Patriarch Souflikar and Patriarch Galthran

M

Mir

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Patriarch Souflikar

Hmm….long long time since I made new char…….if I only could remember where that 'new char' button…...oh, here it is……

So I have the final weapon and I think paladin will be best for this item….hmm, crap, he's black….so Charles-henry sanson is out of the question …and this name will be quite ironic…ok, this name will do…


Game progress

Normal

Act 1
P8 from the start, cleared the moor twice out of boredom (S&E first time). I always do a full clear in this area so I could twink my chars right from the start.


Gave him a rare polearm and rushed forward for a level or two until I could equip Fechmar, which packed enough punch to carry me all the way to the catacombs. Found the exit from level 2 before the waypoint, after some thought decided to continue straight to Andariel and hoped that I won't regret it. The fight actually went much better than I expected. Enough damage, good LL and 65 PR ensured I was never in real danger...time for act 2.

Act 2
Ah, act 2…major change of gear. With no good rares or runewords for this level the only weapon I had was the chieftain axe…it's not such a terrible choice but I can only hope that the chief was a zealot since this axe pack exactly enough punch for a zeal cycle or two but not as a normal attack.

The walkthrough was uneventful, finding Duriel took less time then killing him, wasn't in real danger even for a moment. Unlike the previous fight, this time he dropped nothing.

Act 3
Decided not to change his gear for now, the progress was fast enough with his current gear. Got lots of rares and few charms that went straight to Ormus, I wish his luck will stay the same trough Hell too.


Flayer dungeon showed me how fragile this char is going to be when several encounters resulted in rapid movement in the bulb, nothing serious but still it's only act 3…

Before fighting the council decided it was time to bring a better weapon in the like of Bonesnap hammer.

Killing speed went up considerably but still decided to do few more runs for level 30 before moving forward. Encounters with maulers were funny especially with the superior version "fanatic mauler"… did few runs for another level and moved to act4.

Act 4
Fine progress here, Bonesnap took care of everything in 1-2 hits. Got to the river in 10 minutes top, same for CS. Thought that Diablo won't pose any danger…of course I was wrong. Sadly zeal-lock just doesn't mix well with his lightning…I just suck at this game… :(

Changed to single attack for mobility and took him down without further problems.


Act 5
Had to get another level ASAP for upped Bonesnap. Once I got it, by the second waypoint, rest of the act was a smooth sailing…well actually not so smooth since I felt like I missed a lot but with 1-2 hits KO it was enough at this point. A wrong turn in ancients' way resulted in full clear and 2 more levels while searching for a waypoint. The Ancients themselves posed no problem at all. Last waypoints meant a twinking stop for a long session of Baal runs in order to reach level 52. Some key items include:

Kelpie Snare
SoE
Lava gloves
GFace
WT boots

All went well until level 51 then suddenly the leveling dropped to 4-5 runs per level, good thing that I decided to get only to 52 so no much problems here. Baal was killed just in time to get another level.


Nightmare

Act 1
One of my MF chars got a new and interesting item:

Code: 
Dire Barb
Ancient Axe
Two-Hand Damage: 178 to 334
Durability: 33 of 50
Required Strength: 125
Required Level: 48
Axe Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0xb83172a7
+294% Enhanced Damage
+33 to Attack Rating
+9 to Minimum Damage
Adds 1-9 fire damage

With this new axe instead of Bonesnap, and damage levels suited for Hell, early NM was a smooth sailing. Griswald (or is it Griswold?) took a bit longer to die on P8, but that’s was all the excitement in tristram…

The experience bar moved again at the cathedral which was the first place I needed a potion. The low resists don’t cope well with elemental attacks.

Catacombs level 3 brought the first NDE – was swarmed and missed lots of hits which resulted in 75% HP loss…moved back to let the potions work and this time finished them off.

3 RP potions took care of Andariel attacks. The only notable drop was 7%/10% SoE belt (meh…).

Act 2
First thing first is to hire a new merc, one that is true to "best defense is good offence", more on that later. First serious NDE at the 'Halls of the dead' taught me a quick lesson about fighting with groups…advanced more slowly from that point on but still not enough as I suffered a second death at the tomb due to slow reflex :mad:.

The whole tomb was filled with undeads, they hit hard, can't be leached and come in big groups…all the disadvantages of this build. At some point was tempted to change from might to HF – less hits, less damage – but decided to keep this one for now…

Act 3
What a Nightmare…much much harder than I expected. Low defense, almost no DR and ~500 life made big encounters deadly…and every encounter in the jungle is big. Every fight had moments when the life bar dropped to half in a matter of seconds. No matter how slowly I moved and how much I tried to stay behind the merc, it just didn't worked. The inventible happened in Flayers dungeon, run into a group of dolls and ghosts just few steps of the entrance. One pack had fanaticism, the other…maybe might. Every moment either the life went down or the mana, I just couldn’t keep them up and keep fighting at the same time. I think you can guess the end – 3rd death. This was the point I gave up and changed the merc to HF. The remaining levels showed that survivability increased indeed, but we will see that in later acts.

Other interesting events include my first encounter vs PI zombie leader and soon after another one vs some other PI zombie, nothing a 1 point in vengeance can't solve. Although for future fights I must remember the sanctuary aura when fighting undead.

Rest of the journey to Durance of Hate was uneventful, HF really seemed to cool things down a bit. Found the entrance to sewers (2nd level) halfway through, with very few encounters on my way there. Every encounter vs dolls was still dangerous so decided to let the merc deal with them.

The council pack on DoH level 3 proved to be deadly as well due to LEFE boss, his death explosion left me with less than 100 HP, was sure it's going to end bad for me again…

Mephisto required few purples (he hit hard) but nothing dangerous. He also dropped nothing useful too.

Act 4
Had my first serious encounters with gloams (their NM version)…..was quite painful. With ~50 LR I couldn’t tank more than 3 of them at any given moment which meant a slow going but at least I made it alive.

Fast uneventful forward, the fight with Diablo was a bit messy due to wrong position and weapon range. Had to use several purples and reds to survive his lightning and fire attacks. The position was fixed and Diablo dropped nothing useful.

Act 5
First area was uneventful one, got to the 2nd waypoint and decided to do some Eldritch runs for another level. When I decided to continue it was apparently one of the more unluckiest rolls, skeleton archers and slingers…they hurt like hell and this was Nightmare!

As long as I stayed near the merc we split the damage between us but once I tried to move ahead alone I got a painful reminder to stop fooling around…

I hoped it will end with the next area…but no, the 3rd one had slingers too ofc. Made my way to the waypoint which happened to be near Thresh Socket so did another stop to gain another level or two.

My bad luck continued in Frozen river with a combination of witches and skeleton mages. Halfway through the power went off…then the game decided to show that it always can get worse…with a combination of gloams, witches and snakes that caused me to miss the previous roll…yes, just perfect for this build. Advanced very slowly, constantly swapping between Fanaticism and Salvation, and in the end made it to Anya…alive.

Next 2 areas flew by leaving nothing memorable, got another waypoint (Frozen tundra) near the exit, great for MF chars but this is not one of them. For Ancients decided to bring Kelpie and Rockstopper for more resists and DR. Glad I did so (Talik was FE).

The last part was uneventful, grabbed the waypoint and did some baal runs to gain few more levels, had another twinking session once I hit 77 which speed the process even more – once decrepify triggers everything melt away. Got nothing useful from Baal…..as always, finally NM is over.

Hell

Act 1
P3 from the start, made small change in equipment to overcome the low AR which resulted in less than max resists. Did fine until Tristram were the blacksmith showed me that FE&Amp does not mix well with this char…yep, 4th death.

Recovered the body and continued slowly towards the monastery. The Fallen were a bit annoying due to their chaotic nature but since I was 1-hit KOing them it wasn’t a big deal. The tower had a challenging encounter in the form of pack of ghosts (HF&Amp) that took a full row of purples till the boss went down and I could swing in fast motion again.

Rest of the journey was uneventful due to slow and careful movement. Expected a hard battle vs Andariel but managed to get decrepify on her for enough time to take her life-bar all the way down, in the end got nothing useful.

Act 2
Slow and steady. It felt like every 2nd boss pack is cursed and cleansing became useless so I just pushed forward very carefully with the red cloud above for most of the time.

The first serious obstacle was getting the amulet, lots of undead with their mummies and charging snakes…they forced me to use a bit of cat & mouse game to get the skeletons out and in some instances even forced me to retreat but eventually got to the 2nd level. There I just teleported to the altar and took them all one by one…didn’t felt like facing a big group of charging snakes…you understand me…right?

The 2nd level of the palace was a bit problematic due to 2 packs of skeleton archers, one sporting a fanaticism aura the other conviction aura. Once I broke through, I ran ASAP to the third level. It didn’t felt right and knighty so went back to finish the work.

The 3rd level wasn’t much better, cleared the way to the portal but decided to explore the level a bit more…costly idea, a cursed pack of archers took 200k in merc revives and quite a lot of time trying to separate them.

As much as the necro had good luck the paladin suffered from a bad one. Not really bad one as in dying a lot but annoying one. The tomb was literally a tomb…only undead: skeletons, ghouls, ghosts, mummies, only zombies and vampires were missing to complete the gallery. Dispatched them all on my slow, and way longer, way to Duriel. The final battle was a brutal one but…I survived.

Act 3
The beginning was fine, advanced carefully ahead while trying to engage small groups. It turned out I didn’t tried hard enough or maybe underestimated monsters' damage, especially those mosquitoes, because suddenly one fight resulted in quick death…apparently it was the original ZIKA carrier…

Somewhere at the beginning decided to finally max Sacrifice, man, I'm glad I did it because I had to dispatch this pack ASAP, and this one too.

Rest of the jungle was uneventful, I feared the encounters with Stomptree (or what the hell his name) and Sarina but few repositions with teleport gave me the victory.

Unlike the necro this time the council went down without much trouble and even Durance of Hate was tolerable, although it contained undead stygian dolls on it second level the merc took care of them. Mephisto fight was brutal one and had moments when I was sure it will end badly in another hit…..eventually I survived.

Act 4
It seems that Act 4 is all about traps. Nothing serious though and soon it was dispatched and I moved on. Most of the act flew by leaving nothing memorable. This was, as far as I remember, the first time I hoped to get some sort of those spawning types in RoF and luckly the game complied, more on that later.

CS felt just the same as the necro – long and tedious. Diablo was painful…..after the lesson from Normal I switched to normal attack and engaged. The fight was going OK, we traded blows with him getting the better ones since I had to use purples after a hit or two; then suddenly, when I was at 60% after tanking his fire attack, he got a critical and….I had to recover the body :(. He was near the end too and went down few moments later, not without a fight.

Act 5
The beginning was just terrible, the first area was filled with land mines aka quill rats – they hurt a lot; the second wasn’t better at all, slingers and those spear women, the first group killed me twice (the 2nd time while trying to recover the body). When every strike hit, and with almost non-exist DR, fast attacks become deadly. Thresh socket was a whole new level of difficulty (PI, Extra Strong), it took a dozen trips to town to save the merc….so I could attack behind him from a safe position.

Crystal passage…..ahhh, the half way mark, and when you really start to feel like you in Hell difficulty. Snakes, witches, ghosts, you name it. Advanced VERY carefully but still managed to die (1-2 hit KO) against one pack of snakes (E-Strong, cursed…). Frozen river took ages to clear, with 2 types of those harpies and those charging zombies. Since I couldn’t engage big groups (2+) I had to split them and the only way to do it is to stand in their range and let them miss a lot…..very safe method, yes. In the end managed to save Anya, without dying I may add.

Glacial trail and frozen tundra were a nice relief from the Crystal passage but the game quickly recovered with Hell lords at ancients' way…..just great, exactly fit for this char. After about 5 encounters in which I lost all the purples I had and nearly lost the merc too, I learnt my lesson and switched to Kelpie spear to slow hell down. Found the exit relatively fast so didn’t struggled much in this area.

The fight with the Ancients was….a hard one. Took several attempts (the merc died, cursed, fanaticism, I died, etc) until managed to roll them without nasty mods and pass the test.


WSK…the game decided to show there is no end to how much difficult it can become. Harpies and vampires on level one had to fight my way from pillar to pillar – 'The Battle for Stalingrad' style. If that wasn’t enough so level 2 had Burning souls and their mummies…..every boss pack encounter was a Russian roulette with 5 rounds. I was using salvation and sanctuary is the way of the paladin in this area.

After level 2 I knew there is 90% to see burning souls in the throne too, well….I was wrong, but not by much. Instead I got some small, fast and red monsters that go BOOM quickly…..taking you with them sometimes. All in all wasn’t such a hard level compared to the previous ones. The throne was cleared and with enough room for various combat maneuvers the waves were easily dispatched. Lister was a true torment with his HF aura but him being alone removed any danger he could pose. Baal got the same treatment with the same results.

Leftovers
It's a tradition with my chars to leave HF and Nihilitak (stupid name) for the end. So after defeating Baal, it's time to finish those quests too.


Hell HF – couldn’t hope for a better roll :), the smith himself was tough but since we wasn’t PI he went down after I lured him away from his army. Got Io for my effort

Hell Nihil – Pindelskin….ouch, almost lost the merc and even myself, luckily decrepify went off just in time to leech life back. Level one was deserted except a lone poor minotaur soul which was sent to hell (or is it heaven for those guys?). Level two had the leftovers from the jungle – these barbs are real gold diggers – which meant a fun level for this char.

Level 3…physical immune women or poisonous snakes? this is the question. Nah, let have them both, way more interesting that way. Thank Tyreal I found the right path quickly and it wasn’t over populated with monsters. Quest done.


NM Nihil – wasn’t much of a challenge due to obvious reasons, only the snakes could do significant damage and it was countered by careful advance. Quest was over under 10 minutes.

NM HF – Fal rune


Normal – nothing to write home about, amn.


The Numbers

Without enchant/with enchant

STR – 160/168
DEX – 60/70
VIT – 194 (957 HP)
ENERGY – 20 (misclicked)

Skills left – 33


IAS – 45 (weapon) + 20, for fastest swing speed
FHR – 60%
DR – 12%
LL – 8%
ML – 6%
CB – 40%


Sacrifice and fanaticism – 20 each
Almost all the rest – 1


Equipment

Code: 
Helm – Kira (70 res all)
Amulet & ring – angelic combo
Belt – SoE
Gloves – LoH
Switch – Blue teleport staff

Boots:
Imp Tread
Mesh Boots
Defense: 43
Durability: 16 of 16
Kick Damage: 23 to 52
Required Strength: 65
Required Level: 52
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x867d1908
Fire Resist +12%
Lightning Resist +30%
Poison Resist +25%
Replenish Life +4
19% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
20% Faster Run/Walk

Ring:
Plague Knot
Ring
Required Level: 74
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x6855ddf0
+7 to Mana
Lightning Resist +19%
Cold Resist +30%
6% Mana stolen per hit
Replenish Life +8

Weapon:
Executioner's Justice
Glorious Axe
Two-Hand Damage: 227 to 469
Durability: 47 of 50
Required Dexterity: 55
Required Strength: 164
Required Level: 75
Axe Class - Very Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xfa41d21f
+279% Enhanced Damage
+76 to Attack Rating
45% Increased Attack Speed
-33% Target Defense
25% Chance of Crushing Blow
50% Chance to cast Level 6 Decrepify When You Kill an Enemy
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Armor:
Duress
Superior Scarab Husk
'ShaelUmThul'
Defense: 1358
Durability: 30 of 31
Required Strength: 95
Required Level: 51
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0xb0b0aa94
+179% Enhanced Defense
+7% Enhanced Defense
+13% Enhanced Damage
Fire Resist +15%
Lightning Resist +15%
Cold Resist +45%
Poison Resist +15%
Adds 37-133 cold damage over 2 seconds
Increase Maximum Durability 10% - COST ME A LOT
40% Faster Hit Recovery
33% Chance of Open Wounds
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
-20% Slower Stamina Drain
Socketed (3: 3 used)

The mercenary (HF one)

Code: 
Helm – Vamp gaze
Armor – Duriel

Weapon:
Crescent Moon
Superior Thresher
'ShaelUmTir'
Two-Hand Damage: 37 to 439
Durability: 38 of 65
Required Dexterity: 118
Required Strength: 152
Required Level: 53
Polearm Class - Very Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0x79ff52fc
+199% Enhanced Damage
+13% Enhanced Damage
20% Increased Attack Speed
Ignore Target Defense
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
+10 Magic Absorb
7% Chance to cast Level 13 Static Field on striking
10% Chance to cast Level 17 Chain Lightning on striking
Level 18 Summon Spirit Wolf (30/30 Charges)
-35% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
Socketed (3: 3 used)


Finds

Act 1 (don't remember were)
Code: 
Viper Harp
Composite Bow
Two-Hand Damage: 5 to 11
Required Dexterity: 35
Required Strength: 25
Required Level: 4
Bow Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0xe813ee0e
+1 to Dexterity
+26% Enhanced Damage
+13 to Attack Rating
+1 to Maximum Damage
Poison Resist +6%
5% Mana stolen per hit
5% Chance to cast Level 1 Amplify Damage on striking

Act 3 – mephisto first uniqe council member
Code: 
Raven Grasp
Ring
Required Level: 21
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0xf5d869a4
+118 to Attack Rating
Cold Resist +15%
3% Mana stolen per hit
+1 to Light Radius
Half Freeze Duration

Act 2 (NM)
Code: 
Sharp Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 21
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 46
Fingerprint: 0x8f91f327
+53 to Attack Rating
+10 to Maximum Damage

Act 3 NM
Code: 
Amber Grand Charm of Strength
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 22
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 52
Fingerprint: 0xd7e1408c
+3 to Strength
Lightning Resist +28%

Act 5 NM
Code: 
Cobalt Small Charm of Sustenance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 20
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 66
Fingerprint: 0x989cd942
+15 to Life
Cold Resist +9%

Expert's Grand Charm of Life
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 66
Fingerprint: 0x810df6eb
+18 to Life
+1 to Combat Skills (Barbarian Only)

Act1 Hell
Code: 
Shimmering Jewel of Bliss
Required Level: 37
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 68
Fingerprint: 0xd52ef604
+7 to Minimum Damage
All Resistances +8


Ruby Jewel of Wrath
Required Level: 58
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 78
Fingerprint: 0xb1fe77cc
+33% Enhanced Damage
+7 to Maximum Damage

Act2 Hell
Code: 
Sapphire Jewel of Hope
Required Level: 37
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 75
Fingerprint: 0x73515a9d
+12 to Life
Cold Resist +26%

Fine Grand Charm of Sustenance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 53
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 76
Fingerprint: 0xcc085cff
+32 to Life
+28 to Attack Rating
+6 to Maximum Damage

Burning Grand Charm of Sustenance
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 53
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0x31d09d59
+32 to Life
+1 to Fire Skills (Sorceress Only)

Act3 Hell
Code: 
Gull
Dagger
One-Hand Damage: 2 to 19
Durability: 11 of 16
Required Level: 4
Dagger Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0x81ea7d
-5 to Mana
+1 to Minimum Damage
+15 to Maximum Damage
100% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Steel Grand Charm of Inertia
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 35
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0x8806d86b
+115 to Attack Rating
7% Faster Run/Walk

Lem Rune

Act5
Code: 
Black Hades
Chaos Armor
Defense: 1022
Durability: 57 of 70
Required Strength: 140
Required Level: 53
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 99 <-- Baal
Fingerprint: 0x27ff1a5a
+198% Enhanced Defense
-2 to Light Radius
Half Freeze Duration
56% Damage to Demons
+228 to Attack Rating against Demons
Socketed (3: 0 used)

Leftovers (the shields from Anya)
Code: 
Lum

Jewel of Carnage
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 63
Fingerprint: 0x1a7f1a42
+13 to Maximum Damage

Storm Aegis
Rondache
Defense: 26
Chance to Block:  35%
Smite Damage: 2 to 8
Durability: 30 of 30
(Paladin Only)
Required Strength: 26
Required Level: 26
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xd11fbee5
+10 to Mana
+39% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 1
All Resistances +5
Attacker Takes Damage of 7
Half Freeze Duration

Wraith Guard
Protector Shield
Defense: 277
Chance to Block:  40%
Smite Damage: 18 to 24
Durability: 40 of 40
(Paladin Only)
Required Strength: 69
Required Level: 34
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xf3dc7c77
+12 to Life
+80% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +8
+1 to Paladin Skill Levels

Stone Tower
Sacred Targe
Defense: 248
Chance to Block:  70%
Smite Damage: 22 to 70
Durability: 45 of 45
(Paladin Only)
Required Strength: 86
Required Level: 47
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x8286199d
+56% Enhanced Defense
+15% Enhanced Damage
+27 to Attack Rating
+20% Increased Chance of Blocking
Damage Reduced by 6
All Resistances +3
Replenish Life +5
30% Faster Block Rate
+1 to Combat Skills (Paladin Only)


Fight with the Ancients


I\m really sorry about the sound quality. It worked fine on other attempts (Sound was fine, I'm not so much), this time for some reason the quality was bad...
 
Patriarch Galthran

The idea came while driving home from work, as usual, everything started with a weapon and then a build around it with more matching items. The more I thought about it the more I liked it. Checked the Mat/Pat threads and found no such builds, so I had my green light (the motivation) to try this build. Now lets see…

Weapon? check

Char and skills? check

General idea about end-game equipment? check

Ok here we go…


Game progress

Normal


Act 1
P8 from the start, the problems started right away at the 'Blood raven' quest. Even with amp it was a long and tedious fight – she moves better than a skilled pvp player – but in the end managed to kill her. Once I got my merc she did most of the kills – that’s feminism for you.

Once I got the scroll it was time to change gear so I won't feel like a merc myself. The new gear was nice but had to change again before the catacombs because of insufficient damage. Definitely not going to be a cookie cutter…Unlike the paladin, here I took my time to find the waypoint in order to save time later. Found the staircases quickly and engaged Andariel. To my surprise this battle was much easier than I expected, amp & clay golem for the win…not even 1 potion was used.


Act 2
Big re-equipment point, aside from that this act was quite uneventful. Lots of unfinished tries to reach several waypoints resulted in lots of reruns and level 24 in the snake's temple. Nothing interesting until arcane sanctuary were I really felt a drop in power, with no +skills to speak off I ended up cursing a lot……and of course the summoner was on the 4th branch, but that’s something to expect after all those years. Decided it was a good point to have a break and wait for paladin to catch up.


Finding Duriel took several attempts, between clay golem, decrep and merc (applaying 'slow') he went down fast. Got a nice 'all rares' drop from him and even something useful! o_O


Act 3
Same as act 2, another big re-equipment stop. Brought few useful items like:

Code: 
Demon Brow
Circlet
Defense: 23
Durability: 21 of 35
Required Level: 25
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0x52245a22
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
All Resistances +15
Adds 20-49 fire damage
Level 5 Charged Bolt (7/32 Charges)

Plague Gnash
Throwing Axe
Throw Damage: 8 to 20
One-Hand Damage: 4 to 15
Quantity: 130
Required Dexterity: 40
Required Level: 18
Axe Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xf959f38a
+8 to Maximum Damage
Adds 27-58 fire damage
+270 poison damage over 9 seconds

Blood Splitter
Throwing Axe
Throw Damage: 8 to 14
One-Hand Damage: 4 to 9
Quantity: 58
Required Dexterity: 40
Required Level: 26
Axe Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 99
Fingerprint: 0x784a932a
+20 to Attack Rating
+2 to Maximum Damage
Adds 34-73 fire damage
Adds 15-39 cold damage over 2 seconds
6% Life stolen per hit
20% Increased Attack Speed


In addition brought as many elemental damage charms as I could which wasn’t much becuse even the lower ones require high level (:mad::mad::mad:). Gave a new toy to the merc and off we went.


The damage was respectable, the attack speed was not. I knew IAS would be a problem so just had to ignore this fact. The act was one of those long linear and boring maps and coupled with my tendency to visit all waypoints resulted in a long and boring journey through the jungle. The 3rd level of the Flayers dungeon was a remake of the 'Maze Runner' I even took few wrong turns there…

The temple had a huge group, off almost all the possible monsters in those areas, maybe the game thought it will be more effective then only Sarina and her maids…it might have work in Hell but here and now they had no chance. Level 30 happened while clearing travi but decided to wait with twinking until act 4 and maybe another level.


Act 4
Decided to wait a bit more with gear changes and just push forward. For my persistence got a nice charm from some critter just outside the gate.

Izual took ages to kill…….and that’s it, no danger at all, just high life at p8, but in the end he went down too. Nothing special happened until Diablo and then I had a problem. He took the golem and the merc out faster than I could summon/protect them, add to it his lightning length and him targeting me and I had little room/time for mistakes. After trying several strategies, in the end reverted to clay golem & decrep curse and after 30 min took him down.


Act 5
Progress was fast enough with his current gear so I just pushed foreward (read: I was lazy).
Realized that I made a mistake with skills allocation and put points in FG instead of BG. Decided not to respec him for now and leave it as it is.Level 35 brought with him a new armor – Spirit Forge with 2 lightning jewels for about 100 elemental damage. I expected a bit too much from it and was disappointed when the killing speed remained the same. 2 levels later decided to reequip the merc too, somehow Greyform looked out of place at this stage so upgraded it to Twitchthore and gave him the 'anti-boss' spray...Kelpie Snare.
Level 38 is where the fun part began with a simple shield that added a nice amount of elemental damage. Killing those pesky imps in 1 hit was quite fun I must admit. The shield was followed by boots, gloves and new mix of charms.

The fight with the ancients had some scary moments like trapping myself in a corner vs Korlic (never knew it can happen), or taking 2 ancients at the same time (was sure that a new try is just around the corner) In the end the fight wasn’t very dangerous, it seems that a combination of slow, decrepify and lots of elemental damage is a bit too much for them to handle.

Did some runs until level 49 for a new and fast rune-toy, just in time to take Baal down. No source of CB promised a long long fight and long it was…did you knew that he can clone himself under 'slow'?:eek: After 15 min or so he dropped nothing useful.

Nightmare

Act 1
This act always feel like you still in normal, everything die in 1-2 hits top at least in the first 2 maps that is. The graveyard felt like hitting a tombstone, suddenly nothing die fast...or at all. Blood raven was playing hard to catch, without the merc it would take ages to hit her – a true amazon. At this point began to fear that I'm doing something wrong.
Had some problems fighting with devils & shamans, they scatter when one is killed and shamans resurrect them at alarming rate and range…here at least my killing speed prevailed, hope it won't be a problem later…

Rest of the act was uneventful, restored to more supporting role than a killing machine but it was fine, after all that’s the classic necromancer role right? Made a small change in merc gear so he too will benefit from LR, I changed his gear to something with a bit of elemental damage…worked like a charm.

Andariel caused some trouble with her high and fast attacks but once I changed to Kelpie it was solved – not a single potion needed.

Act 2
Not much different from act 1, at least the first 4 areas. From lost city on it felt like an uphill battle. Single hit attack and more resistible monsters resulted in a slight frustration. Arcane Sanctuary got frustration to new levels, the summoner was on the last branch…and you all know which one it is. The merc got stuck at least 3-4 times which required a trip to town and back in order to bring him to me.

One close call happened on one such rail stair, advanced too fast and got stuck between a boss and its minion, 'terror' wasn't much help so had to take the boss down alone while recasting BA like crazy and drinking purples one after another. In the end the boss went down and I could retreat back to safety…phew…

The fight with Duriel was quite long, with only 15% CB and lots of HP on P8, it took 5 min to take him down, of course he dropped nothing good at the end.

Act 3
Much harder than I expected, the erratic movement of flayers and their speed made it hard to hit them with a slow throw. In the end just settled on more supporting role and let the merc do most of the kills.

Once I got to Kurast things really improved, with slower monsters my kill rate went up considerably. Found the waypoints fast enough but wrong turn in the sewers resulted in a long trip. All in all, it was uneventful journey.

For some reason the fight with Mephisto took quite some time due to lots of HP and lack of damage. Did some minor adjustments in my equipment once I reached 62-63 but didn't worked like I expected…it seems that 'mana leech' IS important, will have to reequip him later on.

Act 4
Sloooow and steady, with higher resists and more HP the progress slowed a bit. Good rolls and taking things slowly so I would face 4-5 monsters at any given moment ensured safe journey although uneventful one. Once I hit RoF speed was reduced to a crawl. First boss pack – corpse eating guys – took all the 130 axes to die…not a good sign at all.

In addition, the map rolled the 'grotesque' type with their younglings that prolonged the battles even more. Sadly, or maybe not so sadly, had to stop halfway through due to RL. Second attempt went a bit better with lots of worms, those floating squids and AKs'.

Chaos sanctuary was true to its name and things were a bit chaotic there with the OKs' tendency to run away when someone was too close, but smart use of bone walls solved this problem.

The fight with Diablo was tricky one. First of all I changed merc weapon to Kelpie again, then, during the fight I decided to stay away from Diablo which caused him to use his fire and lightning attacks a lot and caused me to run a lot too. This was a problem because the merc tried to follow and took lots of damage. Took awhile to find the right distance. Diablo even managed to cast his bone cage on me but for my surprise I managed to get out simply by casting TP and stepping through. The journey back was a bit risky since he could trap the TP, but he did not and after few minutes he was dead.

Act 5
Still the same slow progress. The experience was good so decided to do a full clear of the first area. Actually, had to do it twice because I had to exit just as I was ready to engage Shenk.

Second area was full with ranged monsters and so it was very chaotic one with their tendency to run away. Slingers were the worst with their piercing attack, almost as gloams, good thing that their attack is physical so bone armor stopped most of it. Crystalline passage was a big improvement with its close quarters that allowed me to fight on one front only.

Suffered my 1st death in frozen river…big group near the entrance kept pushing me back and using 'attract' or recasting FG just brought more and more monsters off screen…in the end got swarmed and had to get the body back… :(. Slowed down the pace and rescued Anya without further problems.
Glacial tail is where I FINALLY could equip my end game gear, and the improvement was noticeable. Faster attack and MUCH greater damage meant much faster journey.

The fight with ancients was a bit stressful, managed to kill the thrower but couldn't separate the other 2 so had to take them both at the same time. Korlic was cursed but couldn’t land a hit, he namelocked me and forced me to be in constant movement while throwing axes here and there. The fight was bloody but in the end it was over.

WSK 1 posed some problems with lots and lots of those harpies…had to resurrect my merc several times but made it through alive. Had to use some 'divide and conquer' tactics on the 5th wave to survive…worked on them just fine, they should have tried this in the move too…

Baal himself was long and tedious, used Kelpie but he still managed to clone himself…bug in 1.14?? Made few trips to town to get rid of clone but that was the most interesting event, he dropped nothing useful ofc.

Hell

Act 1
Nothing to report here, rushed through the act on p1 while killing almost everything in less than 3 hits. Had to recast the FG few times during my fight with Andy but that’s about it. Time for act2.

Act 2
Slow and steady. Well…maybe not so slow since I had to resurrect the merc more times than all the previous acts combined.

Somewhere in the desert I found a rare amulet, "probably junk" I thought to myself but turned out to be a great amulet for this build :). It looks like 0% MF is the way to go when questing and let the game convince you otherwise with green unique hats and white unique armors.

Maggot lair was the first area in the game that I cleared almost by myself. Wasn't as bad as I thought it will be. The snake's temple had a strange roll…only snakes…quite fit if you ask me. Had to clear almost the whole level before I found the exit but that was OK since they died in 3 hits top. Unlike the paladin this char doesn’t have a teleport stick so decided to cheat a bit and used CE…end of story.

Ran through the palace without any major obstacles. Was lucky enough to find the Summoner on the first branch and even the tomb was finished in few minutes although had to cheat a bit there too with all the undeads. 0% MF IS the way to go.

Act 3
Started as I hoped it will, with everything dying rather quickly. The fast pace stopped a bit in the great marsh with all the gloams there and about 40 LR but made it through alive and resumed the pace in flayer jungle. The fire golem attract aura was used to it full potential and again. In the temple managed to create a choke point at the door to the big hall and with liberal use of decrepify, LR and FG managed to survive the encounter.

The next few areas were easy without anything special up until the council, here the game decided it was time for Hell difficulty with the merc dying A LOT and sometimes even with LT on…managed to beat them after prolonged battle and found the hidden (and very secret) dungeon below.

Durance of Hate….I hate this place, the first level was OK, found the stairs quickly, but the 2nd level…..that wasn’t so nice at all. Huge dungeon, mix of hard hitting melee monsters and ranged ones…..took quite some time but eventually found the stairs down. Level 3 felt, for some unknown reason, just like the fight in Travincal when it came to merc resurrections. Mephisto himself wasn't much a challenge, under decrepify and slow he went down after few minutes and several potions – for the merc of course.

Act 4
One of those uneventful acts, well….except CS that is…oh, and the small entrance trap on Izual area. The chaos sanctuary wasn’t dangerous just VERY long and tedious. Diablo on the other hand was quite exciting. Had the same problem is in NM. He kept namelocking me with his fire/lightning attacks which forced me to move a lot and the merc with me. For my big surprise the merc tanked few hits without dying. Decrepify&Kelpie combo wasn’t much help here, in the end decided to try and tank few hits myself which caused fade to become active and allowed me to tank better. Somehow we took him down in the end from all the various sources of damage we used. A hard fight indeed.

Act 5
The act began quite well, managed to run through half the first area on the left wing. Only near the imps other monsters appeared as well. The only danger came from those skeletons archers and even then only when I didn’t pay enough attention to the battle. The merc did bite the dust once or twice. Same happened in the arreat plateau, ran through the whole area on the left side with only a handful of packs to defend the left side….they should really fire the manage…er….the general.

Crystalline passage and Glacial trail were quite easy, I got a roll that had PI minotaurs, always a scary sight, but they didn’t posed much treat for this build. Contrary to those areas, the Frozen tundra was deadly enough for all 3 combined. With all the lightning skeletons and witches the air was filled with projectiles, finally the high life of FG paid off as he was used as a meat, or more precisely a fire, shield.

The fight with the ancients had its' stressful moments when Korlik managed to corner me again…because of it had some embarrassing moments when I had to stop and think about the next action or look for the potion/spell key. WSK 1&2 were ok, managed to find the exit quickly with the waypoint just around the corner. It allowed me to make a stop and continue the journey with the paladin.

The last part of the game was quite uneventful, the only interesting moment was the fight with the minions. Just before they were spawned I said to myself "just not extra fast", and of course…

Baal himself was just a drag-out fight; he cloned himself twice (clones were dealt with by going to town), but that was all the excitement. In the end only one stood victorious.

Leftovers
Hell Nihiltak – the way to the 3rd level was uneventful and even the last level had very nice roll of skeletons archers, flayers and PI apes, nothing exiting. Because of that got a bit cocky and didn’t paid enough attention to the situation and got punished by CE exactly when bone armor was off…Nihlathak dropped nothing.

Hell HF – the forge was close to the waypoint and guarded by abyss knights and urdars. The smith himself was near such a boss pack so had to separate them a bit before I could take them down. The forge itself it seemed was protected by the elite groups – 3 boss packs. No wonder since it gave me Gul for my effort.


NM Nihiltak – rushed through the first 2 levels like the wind only to abruptly stop once I got to level 3 due to the huge poison damage the vipers do. Since it's still only NM the merc could tank few hits so that’s all I needed to clear the level.

NM HF – just long and tedious battle, the level was full with worms that continued to spawn younglings and slow me down. Eventually got to the forge but this time it was worth a Fal.


Normal – really?? Level 82 char in Normal diff?? The only good things I have to say is that I got better drops here that Hell and NM combined – good jewel, nice rare bone shield and EL rune!! Quite rare in these patches!


The Numbers

Level 82
STR – 95/116
DEX – 95/129
VIT – 182 (660 HP)
ENERGY – 25

Skills left – 14 (should put those in FG)
Stats left – 103

Lower resists – 20
Blood golem – 20
Bone armor – 1 (the best 1-point wonder)
CE – 1 (to avoid temptation, was used when faced shamans, mummies and prowling zombies)

FHR – 45%
IAS – 95% (IIRC the 3rd breakpoint)


Equipment

Code: 
Armor – Treachery
Gloves – Lave Goat
Weapons – Gimmershreds
Shield – Tiamat's Rebuke (PDiamond)
Stash – Demons limb
Rings – Raven frost (x 2)

Helm:
Bone Veil
Circlet
Defense: 23
Durability: 35 of 35
Required Level: 67
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 91
Fingerprint: 0x22e8b840
+20 to Strength
+11 to Mana
+20 to Maximum Stamina
All Resistances +19
Adds 5-16 fire damage
Adds 1-15 lightning damage
Adds 3-10 cold damage over 2 seconds
5% Life stolen per hit
+2 to Necromancer Skill Levels
14% Chance to cast Level 5 Charged Bolt when struck
Socketed (1: 1 used)

Jewel inside:

Viper Scarab
Jewel
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0x5a5745b2
+20 to Maximum Stamina
Adds 5-16 fire damage
Adds 1-15 lightning damage
Adds 3-10 cold damage over 2 seconds

Belt:
Corpse Harness
Mithril Coil
Defense: 115
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Strength: 106
Required Level: 56
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 90
Fingerprint: 0xda50e99d
+18 to Life
+75% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +7%
Lightning Resist +15%
2% Life stolen per hit
24% Faster Hit Recovery
7% Chance of Open Wounds

Boots:
Carrion Shank
Chain Boots
Defense: 9
Durability: 16 of 16
Kick Damage: 6 to 12
Required Strength: 30
Required Level: 37
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0xd1397cef
Lightning Resist +22%
Cold Resist +17%
Adds 1-23 lightning damage
30% Faster Run/Walk

Amulet 1 (was used later to equip demon limb):
Death Mark
Amulet
Required Level: 63
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xbd5ed5c4
+25 to Strength
+38 to Life
Magic Damage Reduced by 3
Fire Resist +17%
Lightning Resist +17%
Cold Resist +25%
Poison Resist +17%
+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels

Amulet 2 (See "Finds" section):
Entropy Gorget
Amulet
Required Level: 33
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0xedc6cd61
+29 to Life
+73 to Mana
All Resistances +14
+50 poison damage over 3 seconds
+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels
Half Freeze Duration
[/CODE


Charms

Mix of elemental charms that resulted, together with the rest of the equipment in:

Fire damage: 312-737
Lightning damage: 38-1072
Cold damage: 257-603
Poison: 701 (over various time lengths)
OW: 7%


Merc (Blessed Aim)
[CODE]
Vamp Gaze
Cold damage: 6-14

Demon's Arch (fit the theme of the build):
Fire damage: 232-323
Lightning damage: 23-333

Duress:
Wyrmhide
Defense: 1845
Adds 37-133 cold damage over 2 seconds
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (3: 3 used)



Finds

Act 2 (Duriel)
Code: 
Plague Thirst
Hatchet Hands
One-Hand Damage: 2 to 20
Durability: 31 of 56
(Assassin Only)
Required Dexterity: 37
Required Strength: 37
Required Level: 6
Claw Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 22
Fingerprint: 0x48c00c71
+20% Enhanced Damage
+46 to Attack Rating
+2 to Maximum Damage
5% Life stolen per hit
5% Mana stolen per hit


Act 4
Code: 
Shimmering Grand Charm of Dexterity
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 10
Unidentified
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 24
Fingerprint: 0x2fb226ac
+3 to Dexterity
All Resistances +12


Act 3 NM
Code: 
Sharp Grand Charm of Dexterity
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 21
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 55
Fingerprint: 0x45781e13
+6 to Dexterity
+60 to Attack Rating
+8 to Maximum Damage


Act 4 NM
Code: 
Ruby Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 22
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 56
Fingerprint: 0x3f4cff95
Fire Resist +26%   

Serpent's Grand Charm of Greed
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 57
Fingerprint: 0x362e9d45
+53 to Mana
12% Extra Gold from Monsters

Lion Branded Grand Charm of Greed
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 42
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 57
Fingerprint: 0x6497c24a
21% Extra Gold from Monsters
+1 to Combat Skills (Paladin Only)


Act5 NM
Code: 
Shimmering Grand Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 27
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xf72a36d0
All Resistances +15


Act 1 Hell
Code: 
Ruby Jewel of Knowledge
Required Level: 33
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 68
Fingerprint: 0x2128c285
+8 to Energy
Fire Resist +29%

Shimmering Jewel
Required Level: 12
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 61
Fingerprint: 0xaa16aae1
All Resistances +7


Act2 Hell
Code: 
Toothrow
Sharktooth Armor
Defense: 849
Durability: 42 of 63
Required Strength: 103
Required Level: 48
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0x295cec60
+10 to Strength
+208% Enhanced Defense
+52 Defense
Fire Resist +15%
+15 Maximum Durability
Attacker Takes Damage of 38
40% Chance of Open Wounds

Harlequin Crest
Shako
Defense: 109
Durability: 8 of 12
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 62
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0xc7d12e96
+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
+1 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+1 to Mana (Based on Character Level)

String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 105
Durability: 6 of 22
Required Strength: 20
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 88
Fingerprint: 0xb5f1e7ac
+159% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 14
Damage Reduced by 15%
8% Life stolen per hit
+10 Maximum Durability

Entropy Gorget
Amulet
Required Level: 33
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0xedc6cd61
+29 to Life
+73 to Mana
All Resistances +14
+50 poison damage over 3 seconds
+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels
Half Freeze Duration


Act3 Hell
Code: 
Ormus' Robes
Dusk Shroud
Defense: 415
Durability: 18 of 20
Required Strength: 77
Required Level: 75
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xc2e0c786
Regenerate Mana 12%
+11 Defense
20% Faster Cast Rate
+3 to Static Field (Sorceress Only)
+15% to Fire Skill Damage
+14% to Lightning Skill Damage
+11% to Cold Skill Damage

Chaos Finger
Ring
Required Level: 43
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0x6aebaaee
+27 to Life
+13 to Mana
+103 to Attack Rating
Poison Resist +7%
4% Life stolen per hit
Replenish Life +6

Imp Shank
Wyrmhide Boots
Defense: 118
Durability: 8 of 12
Kick Damage: 65 to 100
Required Strength: 50
Required Level: 45
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xa9c134a8
+88% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +37%
Cold Resist +19%
10% Faster Run/Walk
Poison Length Reduced by 25%
14% Chance to cast Level 5 Nova when struck


Act5 Hell
Code: 
Jewel of Carnage
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xe3a3fc15
+12 to Maximum Damage

Iron Grand Charm of Flame
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 83
Fingerprint: 0x7af74947
+72 to Attack Rating
Adds 1-2 fire damage

Serpent's Large Charm
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 85
Fingerprint: 0xc29b7e4a
+33 to Mana

Small Charm of Anthrax
Keep in Inventory to Gain Bonus
Required Level: 36
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 81
Fingerprint: 0x43011e46
+50 poison damage over 6 seconds


Leftovers (heads from Anya)
Code: 
Gul rune

Jewel of Carnage
Required Level: 18
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 68
Fingerprint: 0xd5a9443c
+15 to Maximum Damage


Dire Rock
Bone Shield
Defense: 23
Chance to Block:  60%
Smite Damage: 3 to 6
Durability: 38 of 40
Required Strength: 25
Required Level: 30
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 68
Fingerprint: 0x36806240
+20% Increased Chance of Blocking
Fire Resist +20%
Lightning Resist +16%
Attacker Takes Damage of 9
17% Faster Hit Recovery
30% Faster Block Rate
+2 to Combat Skills (Paladin Only)

Carrion Guard
Succubus Skull
Defense: 208
Chance to Block:  30%
Smite Damage: 0 to 0
Durability: 20 of 20
(Necromancer Only)
Required Strength: 95
Required Level: 60
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0xf3532d85
+8 to Strength
+10 to Life
+20 to Mana
+42% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 1
Lightning Resist +9%
Adds 12-28 poison damage over 4 seconds
+2 to Decrepify (Necromancer Only)

Blood Wing
Preserved Head
Defense: 2
Chance to Block:  33%
Smite Damage: 0 to 0
Durability: 20 of 20
(Necromancer Only)
Required Strength: 12
Required Level: 51
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0x8c658c0
+37 to Life
+10% Increased Chance of Blocking
Fire Resist +27%
Lightning Resist +24%
Adds 12-28 poison damage over 4 seconds
15% Faster Block Rate
Level 3 Terror (23/27 Charges)

Armageddon Shell
Hierophant Trophy
Defense: 87
Chance to Block:  32%
Smite Damage: 0 to 0
Durability: 20 of 20
(Necromancer Only)
Required Strength: 58
Required Level: 40
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 82
Fingerprint: 0x14c0a205
+23% Enhanced Defense
Damage Reduced by 6
Fire Resist +14%
Lightning Resist +14%
Cold Resist +14%
Poison Resist +21%
Adds 12-28 poison damage over 4 seconds
Level 5 Terror (25/97 Charges)


The fight with the Ancients


Sadly I didn't recorded the sound with this char. I got some massage about the sound halfway through the battle so couldnt stop and fix it.



 
Summery

Paladin

In one word: fragile, in two words: glass canon. He is powerful, no denying that. He took all Hell on P3 and did fine even without decrepify, but being 2-handed he was susceptible to high amounts of damage from everyone and it resulted in many, many deaths. Sometimes it was too frustrating but most of the time it was a fun char to play.

I could improve his defensive aspect by using Rockstopper and Treachery instead but Duress fits this build nicely too. Changing to angelic set was probably one of the best ideas I had with this char, hitting better really paid off.

He also was bleeding money, this may have something to do with the situation. If only I could get the right value on the items I sell, like this one or that one.

The weapon :)… Actually it's quite a good weapon with all the mods supporting each other:

1. You hit better (- enemy defense)
2. You kill faster (high damage and CB)
3. Stuff die and decrepify is being cast
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3

The first choice was a berserker barb – huge damage to trigger decrepify – but knowing he will be as slow as a turtle with this weapon and him dying A LOT during his journey caused me to give up on this idea. After some further thought I came to conclusion that its true potential will be better unlocked on a paladin.

Decrepify was cast about 60% of the time, best acts are: 2, 3, 4 or any place with small creatures (low HP).


Necromancer

In the words of Colonel John "Hannibal" Smith himself: "I love it when a plan comes together". Strong, safe, simple and unique build (well, probably not so unique but since I didn’t see any similar builds on the list it's enough for me) , the only disadvantages were the lack of AR, in the last stages of Hell I had 70-75% to hit, and the single-hit attack. It was one of the chars I had most fun playing recently.

His killing speed was nice and if anything managed to get to him he had bone armor to tank the first hit or two and strong enough attack to send those monsters into hit recovery. With my end game equipment I think I managed to get an average of 2K elemental damage per hit.


Mercenaries

With all the high level equipment I see on some chars these days and even my own chars (the ones I use for leveling and MF runs), and with all the cookie cutters we use it’s hard to remember the important role of a mercenary beside him being a walking aura. Well…it was pleasant thing to be reminded by those chars (and I'm sure everyone participating in a tournament knows that too) that once you keep an eye on the mercs and tend them well they worth every penny, more so with an unorthodox builds like those ones. They tanked for me, they killed as much as I did on more than one occasion, and without them I doubt could finish those chars. They deserve to be mentioned.




On a more serious note: few years ago I met another vanilla player here (Face) and we started a long and fun MP session which lasted for a few years. Sadly RL and different time zones took their heavy toll…I haven't heard from him for more than half a year now…

It was quite hard and boring to play D2 alone again… I dedicate those to chars to Face and our MP games together.




Thank you for reading






 
Nice write up and videos, especially the Ancients battle. It looks like a blue-print I could follow for dealing with them with my windy druid, as I'll definitely need to try and break them up to take them on in P8.
 
Kitteh said:
Was that your first experience of dolls? (the little red things that go boom)

I'm curious, why are you keeping the bow, the first find?

I meant to reply when you first posted but I got distracted :p
Click to expand...

1. No, ofc no :), just wrote it like that. They not much better than Burning Souls for melee chars.

2. I can use the bow on level 4 and it has amp damage, quite good twinking weapon IMO.
 
Ah, explains it :P

Have you thought about envy gear for twinking? Long bow/BP/helm. I'm not criticising your method by the way or trying to be rude, just a suggestion haha I've not tried going down the amp damage route though. Having fun -> efficiency. Let me know how well it works, please :)

Also, the Angelic combo is so awesome. In terms of how easy it is to get, it really is pretty amazing...
 
Yes I thought about envy gear but too much trouble to collect those jewel, I use them fro crafting and don't keep count of them...I have some pieces with envy jewel in them but not "full set". I will let you know since future plans contain 3 amazons.

Angelic combo....yes I agree, it's game changing once you have more than 80% to hit.
 
^ even later, but I forgot to comment last time. Well done with both of the chars, and huge effort with this double-patriarch report!

I especially liked the nec. Gimmershred is inspiring weapon and that circlet along with the jewel in it fits the build really nicely. Also good job with the Ancients!

Builds going all in with all the various elemental damages can be surprisingly good. :)
 
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