Finds from Week 2 of my would-be-UT99er:
Following my new Lightning Sorc's early success at NM Andariel (getting a SoJ at unique ring drop #8), I decided I'd keep running for a second. After all, the first SoJ was basically free of effort, it's the best place to look, and I probably won't want to come back to NM once I start Hell
.
SoJ #2 took more effort than the first, but I got it done:
The Stone of Jordan
Ring
Required Level: 29
Fingerprint: 0x3d21f89d
Item Level: 49
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
Adds 1 - 12 Lightning Damage
+20 to Mana
Increase Maximum Mana 25%
That was unique ring drop #34. So, my grand totals from running NM Andariel were: 18 Nagels, 14 Manalds, and two SoJs. Back in post #913 of this thread,
@Helvete said that the expectation for finding a SoJ at NM Andariel was 1 for every 31 unique rings. So, lucky me
! Interestingly, I exactly matched Helvete's effot, finding two SoJs at unique ring drop #34 ... both using clvl 75 Sorceresses. Though he was using Fire ... and had about 350 mf more than me
... Still, weird coincidence! Anyhow, I'm using one of the SoJs, and the second is for an Annihilus. I'd love to show you a readout of the charm ... but, I think I better pick up some character levels and upgrade the merc before I give that a go.
Speaking of upgrades, I did find some additional goodies on the way to SoJ #2.
The biggest was:
Tal Rasha's Adjudication
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x4c3844b5
Item Level: 49
Version: Resurrected
+2 to Sorceress Skill Levels
Adds 3 - 32 Lightning Damage
+50 to Life
+42 to Mana
Lightning Resist +33%
That went into immediate use, but more than that, was also a wanted piece of endgame gear! (I think I'll be shooting for a three piece Tal's setup: Amulet, Armor, Belt).
I also came across another Vipermagi, that is probably objectively better than my initial 35/9 find:
Skin of the Vipermagi
Serpentskin Armor
Defense: 279
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 43
Fingerprint: 0xdb92ccd6
Item Level: 49
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
+30% Faster Cast Rate
+120% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +34
Magic Damage Reduced by 13
I mean, a 35 Vipermagi is super stylish, but I suppose the extra 4 MDR gives this one the edge.
Anyhow, I swapped out my four PTopaz Gothic Plate for the 34 Vipermagi and started Hell with really solid resistances (~60 Cold, Fire, and Lightning), and hitting the 63 FCR Breakpoint
. MF of course took a huge hit (down to about 125
) but it didn't really matter because objective number one was finding some socketables! A four socket elite polearm (Insight), and a four socket Monarch (Spirit), to be specific. Well, really I'd have liked to find a four socket
eth elite polearm ... but considering I've only found one of those since D2R launched three months ago, I wasn't going to holding my breath on that one.
And sure enough, no eth elite polearms of any description dropped, but I found the rest. I went straight to the Pit and then did some rerunning. First I found the four socket elite polearm in the form of a white Cryptic Axe. The odds weren't good, but I was sitting on enough PAmethysts following my excursion at NM Andariel that I went ahead and gave it a go. Surprise! Four sockets! That made the merc more viable against LIs, but my preferred method of dealing with them was still to roll them away by creating a new game
. About the time I hit clvl 84 (xp is pretty good at players 5
), I found my first white Monarch:
Odds were better on this one, and it also rolled four sockets! I needed 31 FCR to get to the 105 Breakpoint ... First roll was 25 FCR ... Second roll was 32 FCR, 96 Mana, +6 Magic Absorb. Okay. That'll do. I was going to move on from the Pit but the xp was just sooo good. So I decided I'd close out Week 2 of my would-be-UT99er in the Pit. I made it to clvl 86 and found a couple rarer things,
Trang's Belt, and
Messerschmidt's Reaver. And, just before the week ended, I found a second white Monarch. It also rolled four sockets! Now with two four socket Monarchs, and nine Hel Runes, I decided to see if I could roll a better shield. After gathering up all the sets of runes I immediately rolled:
Spirit
Monarch
TalThulOrtAmn
Defense: 138
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 78 of 86
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0x54d4c239
Item Level: 88
Version: Resurrected
+2 to All Skills
+35% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+105 to Mana
Cold Resist +35%
Lightning Resist +35%
Poison Resist +35%
+6 Magic Absorb
Attacker Takes Damage of 14
4 Sockets (4 used)
I'll take it! ... and save the rest of those precious runes for something else
.
So not a bad Week 2 for my would-be-UT99er. A second SoJ, Tal's Amulet, an elite Insight for the merc, and a 35 FCR Monarch for the Sorc! The xp, and anything-could-drop-at-any-moment nature of the Pit is hard to walk away from, but I'll probably depart by clvl 88.
Next stop: LK. To Infinity, and beyond!
Merry 
christmas! 
