Meet the Rune Finders threads are for showing off your character from the corresponding RFL, similar to Meet the Olympians threads from the MFOs. You can include whatever details you want; it's a chance to brag on your runner or just to show them off (**but don't include details on rune drops because results for Round 1 aren't in yet**).
The difference, of course, is that there are three RFL rounds, so I will edit this post and put in a direct link to first post with characters from Round 2 and Round 3 once we get there. (Round 2 posts here; Round 3 posts here.)
There is so much great theorycrafting and nice demonstration vids posted in progress threads. If people have time and the inclination, I thought it would be cool to give everyone a chance to post some of that content along with character readouts and musings here for ease of reference in the future.
Well a Javazon is the most popular build for the Cows so there is no need for an introduction. The different route that I took with my build was the FCR which was at 99% (main hand), next-to last break-point for the Amazon. Teleporting was very fast without the need to switch and the rest gear was filled with items that could boost damage as much as possible. Faster Cast Rate was given from the items: Griffin's, Spirit, Arachnid Mesh, Rare Rings x2. My only issue was that I didn't have a "Can't be Frozen" stat so sometimes I ended up farming... eermm frozen for a while...
A 1.07 MPK ring was also a savior and you could do a whole run without a single mana potion.
Hireling was an Act2 Might who was of course carrying Infinity with Andariels and Chains of Honour for the + to skills. Along with the Cta, that gave him a total of +5 to skills to boost the Conviction Aura.
All my runs were done at Players 7. I was trying to avoid big stacks of Cows and sometimes I even tried to separate them due to the massive loot which I wasted too much time to clear out. I was mostly aiming for small or medium stacks which of course sucks and it's exactly the opposite from what you should be doing but without a loot filter it can't be helped with the timer putting pressure on you. With D2R, auto gold pick-up helped a lot and the setting that allows you to constantly see the items on the ground.
A message to Blizzard:
ThisIsHowItFeelsLikeToFarmCowsWithoutALootFilterAtPlayersOne
andthisishowitfeelslikefarmingcowsatplayers8.notveryfunrightblizzard?
This is how a regular run was for me with the exception that I didn't collect anything in the video otherwise it would be like 2 minutes longer.
For anyone willing to see it, don't miss the end, it's quite epic.
She's not quite at the same level as well geared Necro, Java or Trapper in the hands of an able player, but I love Nova for cow runs. So effective yet simple, can literally hold down RMB the whole run just alternating between Teleport, Sstatic and Nova. Mana burn can be dangerous, but when reasonably awake while playing it's no biggie as she can always teleport out when reacting fast enough.
Basically similar build to the last time I ran cows with her, but this time going with Eschuta's, MPK socketed Griffon's and Frostburn rather than CM and Magefist and an extra facet. Honestly not much of a difference, same for Frostburn vs caster/MPK craft gloves. Here's a couple of runs with the previous CM setup for comparison.
--
@Excalibur good to see others are carrying on the 99 FCR Javazon torch. I didn't play her at all this time, but FYI below is how I built my Java in order to accomodate the various breakpoints I wanted, in case you're looking to take her even further... well at least personally I remain convinced it's the most optimized approach for her, really not sure why no one else ever copied that gearing approach.
What I wanted was this: 35% IAS and high damage from faceted shield on Javalin switch, 99% FCR on alt switch without swapping in Wizzy, 100% pierce and cannot be frozen, which as you mentioned is kinda needed. I also wanted good life/mana upkeep to reduce potting to a minimum.
Griffon's Cham
2/20 FCR amulet
Switch 1 (throw): Titan's, HHG with 2x facet and 1x IAS/MPK jewel
Switch 2 (teleport): CtA, Spirit
Enigma
2x FCR rings with dual leech and other stats
Silkweave
3/20 IAS gloves
Razortail
Some runs with that Java setup during the 2019 RFL.
Ohh my! Thank you very much for the extra ideas. Didn't expect there's so much more customization with that FCR breakpoint!
Looks really good! Will definitely try to upgrade her. Also, just noticed you opened the Cow portal from the stash. Didn't know that can happen.
Regarding your Sorcy, how come you don't have a 1.07 MPK ring?
I don't trade and never played 1.07... except back when that was the current patch I guess. Never cared much about it as I don't consider time travel stuff to have much of an impact in PvM at least.
Round 1 was completed with my Javazon, which I quickly built and leveled in preparation for Round 1. I was still lacking a Griffon's and still hadn't made an Infinity stick with the runes found from last year's RFL. During the weeks leading up to this year's RFL, my playtime not spent playing tournament characters was used to try to rack an eth Thresher and farming Pindle for levels on the Java (and hoping for a Griffon's to drop). Sadly, neither of those activities had enough time investment to be fruitful, and I decided I'd be okay with my first SC Infinity in an eth CV as I can always just make another.
Her gear:
Code:
Shako (pTopaz)
Highlord's
(main) Titan's / Spirit
(switch) CtA / Spirit
Enigma LP
Ravenfrost
Rare ring w/ 10 FCR, ML, resists
Laying of Hands
Razortail
War Travs
Might Merc:
Andariel's (Ral)
Fortitude DS
Infinity eth CV
Teleporting was slow (I only had 44 FCR), so when I scouted ahead for packs I usually just ran, then after waking up a good amount of groups I used teleport to gather them together. Definitely looking forward to finding both a Griffon's and a good caster amulet for this build.
@ffs - Ever since I first saw your 99 FCR/35 IAS Javazon build, I have always used that as a template for how I want to build my own Javazon. I've still got a few pieces left to look for, and I'm hoping I can find those missing pieces by the time next year's RFL rolls around.
I ran again with Litas, my lightning fury cow rancher, same as last year. Same gear, too. She completed 18 of my 20 hours. She has now advanced to level 90.
Code:
Name: Litas
Class: Amazon
Experience: 1643300009
Level: 90
Naked/Gear
Strength: 125/165
Dexterity: 160/184
Vitality: 240/260
Energy: 15/20
HP: 948/971
Mana: 148/225
Stamina: 393/399
Defense: 40/1924
AR: 770/1088
Fire: 150/110/50
Cold: 166/126/66
Lightning: 192/152/92
Poison: 112/72/12
MF: 88 Block: 55
GF: 0 FR/W: 66
FHR: 12 IAS: 20
FCR: 0
Magic Arrow: 0/0
Fire Arrow: 0/0
Cold Arrow: 0/0
Multiple Shot: 0/0
Exploding Arrow: 0/0
Ice Arrow: 0/0
Guided Arrow: 0/0
Strafe: 0/0
Immolation Arrow: 0/0
Freezing Arrow: 0/0
Inner Sight: 0/0
Critical Strike: 1/3
Dodge: 0/0
Slow Missiles: 0/0
Avoid: 0/0
Penetrate: 1/3
Decoy: 0/0
Evade: 0/0
Valkyrie: 0/0
Pierce: 1/3
Jab: 1/10
Power Strike: 15/24
Poison Javelin: 1/10
Impale: 0/0
Lightning Bolt: 20/29
Charged Strike: 20/29
Plague Javelin: 1/10
Fend: 0/0
Lightning Strike: 20/32
Lightning Fury: 20/32
Harpoonist's Grand Charm of Dexterity
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xf67dbd62
Item Level: 52
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)
+3 to Dexterity
Tome of Identify
Fingerprint: 0xc7d89fe5
Item Level: 9
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Sapphire Small Charm of Inertia
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x67cabc23
Item Level: 64
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3% Faster Run/Walk
Cold Resist +11%
Coral Small Charm of the Glacier
Small Charm
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0x4f53705a
Item Level: 60
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 3 - 6 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
Lightning Resist +8%
Ruby Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xf7110d44
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Dexterity
Fire Resist +11%
Ruby Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x823d6c5
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +10%
Toxic Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 55
Fingerprint: 0x67135cd4
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 100 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
Arcing Small Charm of Inertia
Small Charm
Required Level: 57
Fingerprint: 0xad225136
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3% Faster Run/Walk
Adds 1 - 25 Lightning Damage
Harpoonist's Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x80c1f96a
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)
+12% Faster Hit Recovery
Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xb83d8a31
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+19 to Life
Tome of Town Portal
Fingerprint: 0x23d98000
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Ruby Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x147c7d11
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +10%
Horadric Cube
Fingerprint: 0xe3b71499
Item Level: 13
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Key
Fingerprint: 0xa9751178
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Harpoonist's Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x68519341
Item Level: 50
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)
Iron Large Charm of Craftmanship
Large Charm
Required Level: 26
Fingerprint: 0x3de2b0a5
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Maximum Damage
+48 to Attack Rating
Small Charm of Anthrax
Small Charm
Required Level: 36
Fingerprint: 0xd37111c9
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 50 Poison Damage Over 6 Secs (150 Frames)
Blackhorn's Face
Death Mask
Defense: 264
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x61157308
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Prevent Monster Heal
Slows Target by 20%
+204% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +15%
+20 Lightning Absorb
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 25
Crescent Moon
Amulet
Required Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0x98ab8738
Item Level: 66
Version: Expansion 1.10+
15% Mana stolen per hit
6% Life stolen per hit
+45 to Mana
Magic Damage Reduced by 10
10% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
-2 to Light Radius
Tal Rasha's Guardianship
Lacquered Plate
Defense: 893
Durability: 54 of 55
Required Level: 71
Required Strength: 34
Fingerprint: 0xa90812e0
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+400 Defense
Cold Resist +40%
Lightning Resist +40%
Fire Resist +40%
Magic Damage Reduced by 15
88% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -60%
Set (2 items): +10% Faster Cast Rate
Scintillating Ring of the Mind
Ring
Required Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0x6bc2b7f7
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5 to Energy
All Resistances +15
Scintillating Ring of the Jackal
Ring
Required Level: 59
Fingerprint: 0xeeb002c9
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+4 to Life
All Resistances +15
Thundergod's Vigor
War Belt
Defense: 145
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Level: 47
Required Strength: 110
Fingerprint: 0x6b20d07e
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 Fury (Amazon Only)
+3 to Lightning Strike (Amazon Only)
+174% Enhanced Defense
+20 to Strength
+20 to Vitality
+10% to Maximum Lightning Resist
+20 Lightning Absorb
Litas's Demon Blazer
Greaves
Defense: 14
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 70
Fingerprint: 0xfddd89de
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+6 Maximum Stamina
Cold Resist +36%
Poison Resist +33%
Litas's Stone Fist
Demonhide Gloves
Defense: 39
Durability: 11 of 12
Required Level: 39
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0xce256e2e
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 3 Frost Nova when struck
+2 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)
+20% Increased Attack Speed
3% Life stolen per hit
+10% Enhanced Defense
+32 to Mana
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%
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%
Super Healing Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenish Life +320
Super Mana Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 250%
Super Healing Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenish Life +320
Super Healing Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenish Life +320
Super Healing Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenish Life +320
Titan's Revenge
Ceremonial Javelin
Throw Damage: 76 - 203
One Hand Damage: 76 - 149
Quantity: 140
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 109
Fingerprint: 0xd52cb654
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)
+2 to Amazon Skill Levels
+30% Faster Run/Walk
184% Enhanced Damage
Adds 25 - 50 Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
+20 to Strength
+20 to Dexterity
Increased Stack Size
Replenishes quantity
Lidless Wall
Grim Shield
Defense: 326
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 69 of 70
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 58
Fingerprint: 0x1e77c2a7
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+20% Faster Cast Rate
+116% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Energy
Increase Maximum Mana 10%
+4 to Mana after each Kill
+1 to Light Radius
Super Mana Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 250%
Super Mana Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 250%
Super Mana Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 250%
Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%
Tome of Town Portal
Fingerprint: 0x6ac78067
Item Level: 95
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Wirt's Leg
One Hand Damage: 2 - 8
Durability: 59 of 66
Fingerprint: 0x88ee806e
Item Level: 76
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+150% Damage to Undead
Found In Hell Difficulty
3 Sockets (0 used)
Full Rejuvenation Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 100%
Replenishes Health 100%
Super Healing Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenish Life +320
Super Mana Potion
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Replenishes Mana 250%
Titan's Revenge
Ceremonial Javelin
Throw Damage: 78 - 210
One Hand Damage: 78 - 154
Quantity: 140
Required Level: 42
Required Strength: 25
Required Dexterity: 109
Fingerprint: 0x26c93d17
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Javelin and Spear Skills (Amazon Only)
+2 to Amazon Skill Levels
+30% Faster Run/Walk
198% Enhanced Damage
Adds 25 - 50 Damage
9% Life stolen per hit
+20 to Strength
+20 to Dexterity
Increased Stack Size
Replenishes quantity
Stormchaser
Scutum
Defense: 197
Chance to Block: 34
Durability: 62 of 62
Required Level: 35
Required Strength: 71
Fingerprint: 0xcb09849f
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
4% Chance to cast level 5 Tornado when struck
4% Chance to cast level 6 Blizzard when struck
+10% Faster Block Rate
20% Increased Chance of Blocking
+150 to Attack Rating
Adds 1 - 60 Lightning Damage
+218% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +19
Lightning Resist +50%
Half Freeze Duration
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Diamond
Perfect Diamond
Required Level: 18
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Weapons: +68% Damage to Undead
Armor: +100 to Attack Rating
Shields: Cold Resist +19%
Lightning Resist +19%
Fire Resist +19%
Poison Resist +19%
Mercenary:
Name: Jemali
Race: Desert Mercenary
Type: Off-Nightmare
Experience: 88453086
Level: 90
Dead?: false
Naked/Gear
Strength: 195/225
Dexterity: 157/157
HP: 1967/2027
Defense: 1444/2423
AR: 1970/1970
Fire: 124/84/24
Cold: 154/114/54
Lightning: 154/114/54
Poison: 224/184/124
Shaftstop
Mesh Armor
Defense: 629
Durability: 33 of 45
Required Level: 38
Required Strength: 92
Fingerprint: 0x8941a709
Item Level: 62
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+194% Enhanced Defense
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+60 to Life
Damage Reduced by 30%
Andariel's Visage
Demonhead
Defense: 350
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 83
Required Strength: 102
Fingerprint: 0x1b962d79
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
15% Chance to cast level 15 Poison Nova when struck
+2 to All Skills
+20% Increased Attack Speed
8% Life stolen per hit
+126% Enhanced Defense
+30 to Strength
+10% to Maximum Poison Resist
Fire Resist -30%
Poison Resist +70%
Level 3 Venom (20/20 Charges)
Arioc's Needle
Hyperion Spear
Two Hand Damage: 102 - 348
Durability: 29 of 30
Required Level: 81
Required Strength: 155
Required Dexterity: 120
Fingerprint: 0xed99bef8
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+4 to All Skills
+30% Increased Attack Speed
193% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
Adds 394 Poison Damage Over 10 Secs (250 Frames)
50% Deadly Strike
I also tried ranching for an hour with Xylia, my blizzard sorceress, and another hour with Furud, my Trang-Oul poison necromancer, but neither of them found any qualifiers.
Introducing Artemis, a 1.07 hardcore Multishot Zon, and my runner for round 1 (and very likely round 3):
Seen here about to lay down some massive smack, she's a blast to play!! Fast, safe, and able to handle pretty much any area effectively, I just can't recommend one of these girls enough... if you enjoy bowzons at all, and play in 1.07, you should give one a try!
Multishot is much more powerful in 1.07, all arrows (not just the center ones) carry all effects: leech, slow, knockback, blinding, flee, chilling, elemental damage, crushing blow, CtC, etc. In addition, crushing blow does full damage on missile weapons in 1.07 (and works vs PI!) Combined with the fact that multishot has a much longer range (2½-3 screens) than most bow or especially jav skills, with high piercing each volley covers an amazing area, and you can easily kill mobs before you ever even see them! (Heck, if you have leech, you can just fire in a direction until you quit getting leech swirlies, then advance a ways and repeat as necessary)
Artemis is no stranger to RFL action... she was created for round 3 of the 2020 RFL. I had ran the build in softcore for round 1 that year, and was convinced that it was more than safe enough to be sucessful in HC, so when my round 2 runner (who was HC) crafted a awesome bow while running council, I just couldn't resist and created Artemis to run RoF and CS for round 3... and she won the round!!
However, even though Artemis was a veteran runner, she was only a Conquerer, and had never killed Hell Baal... as her target had been RoF & CS, she had only completed actV to the point of rescuing Anya and defeating the Ancients for the XP while she was rushing up. In 1.07, hell Baal is NOT just the big pinata you beat on for awhile after those scary waves... he is a dangerous and deadly foe with an attack that is pretty much OHKO for almost any character, and that's quite nervewracking in HC. But she managed to get it done quickly and became a Guardian at lvl88. Little did she realize at the time that she would have to face him three more times (at /P8!) while rushing replacement levelsitters for the cowlevel...(its hardcore, so when a levelsitter dies...)
So why did she need levelsitters, you may ask? Well, first off, in 1.07 this build WILL eventually kill the Cow King, even if you're careful... the range and damage of her volleys means it will probably happen sooner than later. So she has to run in MP games where the host can open the cow portal. Second, 1.07 has no /players function, so the only way to do more than /p1 is in MP... and since she has to run in MP anyway, and is more than powerful enough to handle it, it only makes sense to up the player count for better drops! I settled on 3 levelsitters (so /P5, with Artemis and host), mostly because I can run 5 sessions without getting outta my chair (more sessions means getting up to access other computers to join game, party, move, etc. which really slows things down... its not a big deal for rushing, but sux for running)
I regeared her a bit for cows to get her MF up... I'm at 99% of a 1.07 grail, but need a Naj's Puzzler (which can't be gambled or racked, and can only drop from a few types of mobs... noteably cows), so I wanted at least 375MF to get set itamz from bosses and champs (which also means that regular cows usually drop at least blue(magic) items, which makes spotting runes (white in 1.07) easier). She had been wearing a 1.07 Saracen's ammy, which I quite like on this build, the CtC amp is very nice, but her bow has CtC Amp too, and I recalled crafting a really good Zon MF amulet in HC a couple years ago that I couldn't use at the time because of rlvl. When I finally located it, it was even better than I remembered, so I swapped it on, and I also replaced her Raven Froat with a second crafted MF ring... Like @Excalibur, I occasionally really missed CBF, but with her range it usually wasn't too bad a problem...
The new jewelry allowed her to hit her MF target without completely clogging her inventory with MF charms. She didn't bother with MF on the merc, he pretty much never kills anything, but adds a bit of CC and distraction for the mobs... he was surprisingly sturdy, however, only dying occasionally, and helping enough that it was worth rezing him next time she went to town. I do wish there was a sword with FCR in 1.07, Devak uses Ginther's pretty much just for the 20MDR...
Artemis leveled from 88 to 95 while running (1.07 cows is awesome for leveling...)
FR/W doesn't suffer from diminishing returns in 1.07, so 77 is enough (though she'd welcome more), and the lack of FCR isn't really a problem, she only very occasionally casts decoy or slow missiles... The unspent skillpoints could be used for valk, GA, or even jav skills, but she doesn't really need them...
Artemis' panoply:
Guillaume's Face (Ptopaz) 35CB 15DS 30FHR 15Str gblood amulet 30Dex 21Life 22@rez 35MF +3P&M 3%LL 1FRW Skullder's Ire (Ptopaz) +1skills and MF, but also 25mdr & 30Vit in 1.07! gblood ring1 14Str 24Life 15@rez 2-7psn/3sec 5%LL 40MF gblood ring2 9Str 22Life 15Dex 2-7psn/3sec 3%LL 38MF Mav's Belt 15%ML 40FRW gblood gloves +3P&M 15CB 20IAS 3%LL 25MF War Traveler 10Dex 100GF 45MF 20FRW
Switch: Whitstan's & bloodcrafted mat javs 224ed 1-353litdam 40IAS CtCAmp +3J&S (not used at all in cows) Demon Fletch - as crafted & after socketing (3x RJoF) I'd note that 'Slightly' here is 45% (3x Fervor jewels)...
Also, in 1.07, poison duration and bite rate on multiple items is SUMMED, not averaged, so the dinky poison affixes on her rings actually makes the hurty poison from the bow last 4x longer...
Merc: Devak, Lvl95 normal Cold Iron Wolf
rare eth Diadem 58life 20@rez 23FR 20FCR 75PLR eth Skin of the Vipermagi 15MDR 35@rez 30FCR Ginther's Rift 20MDR 30IAS eth Wall of the Eyeless (Pdiamond) 19@rez 20PR 20FCR
Usually she carries around 180 MF, but I had used her for gold farming most recently and just left her charms as is, so this time a little lower.
The amulet allows me to use both Fathom and Hellmouth, which around ~40 FR turns hydras into a source of healing, making runs super relaxed. Some care is required with Conviction rolls, but I managed to get away without deaths and actually gained ~2/3 of level 95, ending up just shy of it after the set and dinging after some 10 minutes of extra gameplay.
Didn't record any gameplay this time around, but here's an old vid:
I used my Frezny Barb, nothing extraordinary. Swapped his Fortitude for Enigma and some FCR gear to hit 105 at switch.
I don't have a good Barb yet and it's literally my first time using "Find Item".
Durance 3 helped me escape the monotony of this round. I feel like I won't be joining this round in the future. :/
@m4ke 2xCrainte Vomir for 40%FRW (and 20%DR when you're just running by mobs)... I experimented with 2xSuicide Branch instead (and also with one of each) on switch to get more FCR for horking, but found that, for me, the FRW made the most difference in run times... (1.08 feels like it has harsher diminishing returns on FRW than later patches, but maybe that's just because 1.07 has no diminishing returns on it...)
For round 2, Travincal, I decided to run the council in 1.08... I've been actively testing the bounds of crafting in 1.08 lately, and thought it would be a great opportunity to do some Deadly crafts (which are unique to 1.08). While I've had a 'presence' in 1.08 for a long time now, it was only crafting, racking, and LK running... I've never run targets that hit back much in 1.08, so I was not sure how well it would work out. Many of the things that are OP in 1.07 were nerfed hard in 1.08: Amp, Lower Resist, Conviction, and Cold Mastery can no longer break immunities, CB doesn't work at all on PI, Static got capped, etc... in addition, WW now alternates between both weapons, so no more just getting one great weapon and sticking a Ali Baba or Wizspike offhand...
For all these reasons, I decided to forward an established character, my 1.07 Axe Whirlbarb Dervish, to 1.08... He was already high level (lvl96, and I leveled him to lvl97 before forwarding him to get his base crafting level up to 64), so his CtH would be good, and he had a decent number of unspent skill & statpoints to allow him to adjust to any changes needed for 1.08. Also, he had never used or had a merc, so the 1.08 merc XP cut wouldn't effect him...
He would need a second good Axe that hit LWWBP, however... He already had Storm Razor, an awesome greater Safety crafted Zerker, so I started crafting on another... after many fails and near-misses, I rolled one that, while it didn't get as much %ed as Storm Razor, and only 10IAS, it did get +2 Barb skills and spawned near max 'Celestial'(+AR/Damage to Demons)! Prior testing in 1.08 had showed me that on-weapon Damage to Demons was still just as effective as in 1.07 (in 1.07 (and 1.08), on-weapon DtD is treated as weapon %ed, so it is multiplicative with Stat&Skill %ed, rather than additive like in 1.09+), so this was a great result!!
Storm Razor had long been socketed with Pul/Pul/Diamond (DtD) jewel of Fervor (it only has 30ias native, so needed 10 more to hit LWWBP)... the new Axe is socketed with Ruby(34%ed) & Realgar (30%ed) jewels of Fervor (so 30IAS + 10IAS native to hit LWWBP (34WIAS))....I (briefly) considered using the 3rd socket for even more damage (Ohm/Ber), but quickly decided to capitalize on the Eth bug, which is in full effect in 1.08 (pre-1.10, a socketed 'Eth' in a weapon means you pretty much never fail a hit check)...
The new Axe also happened to be blessed with one of those oh-so-rare truely appropriate names by the random name generator, for an Axe with high damage and near-max 'Celestial' affix: Demon Splitter!!
As crafted in 1.07:
Dervish's original weapon, as used in 1.07(don't have a screenie prior to socketing):
1.07 WW only ever hits with Primary, so that's Ali Baba offhand for more MF(which works in 1.07)...
With these tools in hand, Dervish tackled 1.08 hell council... and discovered that it was no big deal, if anything they die even faster than in 1.07, waayyyy faster than in modern (of course, I never run them at /p1 in modern...) It feels like he hits a bit more, and he definitely does more damage (base weapon damage on most 1.07 elite weapons is low, this is fixed by moving them to 1.08+), compared to 1.07. Also, they very rarely spawned PI, even Ismail (which happens all the time in 1.07 & modern), and when they did, Zerk worked great...
Even though MF barely works in 1.08, council drops well, and I got a lot of set items (all the normal set items except for arctic furs, and even a couple Naj's Puzzlers, which I've been seeking in 1.07 for ages!) and several uniques, including 3(!) Highlord's Wraths (has 30FRW instead of 20IAS in 1.08, I had planned to run Andy/Meph for it at some point, now I don't have to! ). 1.08 Council drops a lot of stuff they can't in 1.07, and I collected quite a few crafting bases (blue spiderweb sashes, vampirefang belts & gloves, mithril coils, monarchs, lunas, etc.) for use in the future.
Runes, however, just weren't dropping much, not even the mid-range crafting runes (lots of Elds & Els though). The crafts I did get to do were mostly crap, but that's how that goes... I just wish I'd been able to do more of it. I did collect almost 300 jewels while running, and many, many, flawless gems were cubed to perfect, so lots of materials for future crafting...
Dervish is a pretty standard whirlbarb: 20WW, 20Mastery, 20BO, 1preqs & 1pt wonders, rest as you see fit, I went with Find Item mostly... Stats for gear/no NRG/rest to Vit... I put a little xtra in Str for moar damage *rawr*
FHR: 49(5 frame) Belt, Hat, & 5%SC
FCR: 38(10 frame) Rings & Ammy
IAS: 80/75(10 frame 'Zerk) Weapons, Gloves, Hat (all weapons hit LWWBP)
PDR: 30 (Axes & boots)
MDR: 35 (Axes, Armor, & boots) (Council Hydra's ain't no thing!!)
Dervish's panoply (most of his gear was forwarded from 1.07 with him):
Switch: 2x Crainte Vomir 20FRW 10%DR 35%slow 50IAS each
The 1.07 rare MPK ring was borrowed from Octavia, my 1.08 lvl99 Sorc... I was worried that 5%ML might not be enough, but I think it usually is... one possible equipment swap I'm considering is if I can craft a good 15%FCR caster belt, that and Trang's gloves would let me drop the ring and still hit 63FCR breakpoint for Horking...
Inventory: Gheed, 5 skillers, MF/life GC, MF/mana/res small charms
Merc: eth Steelshade (Cham), eth Fortitude, eth Infinity
Good magicfind, excellent damage, absorb of all kinds... she wasn't killed for a few ten thousand runs. Generally 1k mana+ is good for comfortable running so aiming for that is good.
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