PhineasB's Character Archive

PhineasB

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Mar 14, 2020
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To transfer updates for active 99ers and leveling characters.
 
2/3/19

All right, let's do this once more, for six of seven classes officially entered :D

Meet Death, the Barb 99er to be. This guy was the third of my Trio of Twins, a little project I started as motivation to quest new characters through Normal and NM difficulties. The idea was three characters using other-than-A2 mercs, with the character class matching the other three merc traits—making them twins.

The Barb got a barb merc obviously. Death was born in August 2017 (according to time-stamp for first screenshot in early A1 Normal) and progressed to A1 NM in that first month. His playthrough had some extra restrictions:

Death is untwinked and playing as a 2-handed berserker with War Cry for stunning enemies. I’m also playing him with some extra limitations: no extended stash, and a modified single pass approach where, in each difficulty, he can select only 5 areas/targets to rerun 5 times each (otherwise, it’s single pass).

He picked up Ragnar in A5 Normal, and he's still Death’s companion, now at level 85. After that initial progress, I didn’t return to him until Hiatus hit 99 in December 2017, and he only progressed to Outer Cloister over the next month and then was parked again. When Phaedrus hit 99 in November 2018, Death started making real progress again, moving to A3 NM and A5 NM in December 2018, and then to A2 H, A5 H, and finally Patriarch in January.

I won’t repeat what’s in those updates, but the short version is that he stuck to full-clears through A4 NM (except early A3 jungle areas), p8 for Normal and p7 for NM. He had the absolute worst roll that I’ve ever had (worse even than Quinta’s NM roll) in clearing NM tombs, with Unravellers in all 7, with 6 of 7 having bosses, including multiple overlapping packs. Hell was p1, with full clears of all A85 areas and all underground areas in A5. He ended up with pretty solid gear for untwinked, basically single pass :)

Since he reached Patriarch, he has been the main break from Pit runs with Pestilence. Up to level 85, he ran Council on p1 and LK on p7 killing packs. Drops up to level 85 where very solid, with Trang armor from Council a nice option for LK runs, and then a really surprising and useful drop from LK (5 life leech to boot and helpful for resists):
1597011886525.png
Then we got Vex #1 and Gul #1 from LK poppables, with a Shimmering SC of Balance mixed in. With the Gul from HF, we cubed to an Ohm, leaving him an Ohm and Mal short of Grief (and a base, which is no small thing). He also picked up a 3os Wire Fleece, a 3os Legend Sward and another Lem, allowing Treachery and a Lawbringer for the Merc, with the idea of transitioning to p3 council for a while.

But due to a bug with Berserk (where it went with normal attack instead of Berserk about half the time, including sometimes getting stuck on not triggering Berserk period), I eventually got frustrated and respec’ed to WW early into 85. I was planning to farm one of each essence and get a better second weapon before respec’ing, but really got frustrated with the bug.

It was underpowered with only Doombringer (and Razor’s Edge as next best damage output option), so I decided to just do quick LK runs for runes to make one Oath or Grief (Mal needed for either, and luck would dictate whether Grief could happen first). Charm and jewel luck continued, with LK providing 5 cold resist 19 vita SC and a Scintillating JoF. LK chests also finally delivered with Mal #1 and Gul #2.

I am maintaining limitation of no extended stash, and I may end up staying with Ragnar the whole way. Might aura and Reaper’s, if it drops, may alter that decision though—it will just up kill speed so dramatically that I’m not sure I’ll be able to stay loyal to the twin :)

Stash management is definitely an interesting wrinkle and additional challenge, at least at this stage. It’s actually somewhat liberating to not pick up flawless gems in LK. I kept one pRuby for blood rings (now abandoned), and have built up 3 pAmethysts for weapon cubing, but otherwise leave them. Same for runes, basically down to Fal+ at this point after cubing up Lum-Ko to free up stash space. He's still death-free, although that will likely change once we get whirling in earnest :rolleyes:

Death will continue to be a break from Pit runs, and I plan to make him my RFL Rd 2 entry. So I may eventually focus on him in early April if he hasn’t gotten the Grief yet. My thought is that it’s worth holding out given the Ohm and Mal already stashed and lack of eth base for Oath. I’m thinking p1 Cows (due to p7 hork) may be best option to find bases once I have the runes.

I also have two socket quests, planning to save one in case Reaper’s drops and I decide to abandon Ragnar. Guillame’s is already socketed, so I’m guessing the last one will go toward Arreat’s, Andy’s, or Vamp Gaze (or maybe a second Guillame’s?) because I can’t think of anything else that would be a candidate. At this point, I’m holding off though.

The RJoF and Scintillating JoF may end up getting use. The RJoF in Guillame’s, in particular, seems like a worthwhile investment, especially in light of the final gear @zticazzy went with for Perkele. Definitely welcome feedback on how to use those and my planned approach.
 
2/16/19

Death also made some progress, currently at level 87. He mixed up straight p7 LK, p7 LK taking on and horking boss packs, p1/p3 Pit, p1 Countess, Andy, Pindle, and some Meph runs along the way.

Useful drops for him were Um #1, Mal #2, Sapphire SC of Good luck, Fine SC of Vita, Sharp GC of Storms, and a Lem from Pindle that allowed a Lawbringer upgrade for Ragnar. He picked up this rare phase blade in the last session I did with him. It has replaced the Razor’s edge, largely due to benefit of not having to repair.

That last pic shows the result of his first death, which was pretty dumb: door bell rang, I thought I hit Esc to head downstairs, and apparently not. Oh well :oops: He’s no-longer death free, but still hasn’t died during actual gameplay.

He now has the runes for two Oaths, or with another Ohm/Lo, a Grief and Oath, but no bases. He’s now focused on Pit runs in search of a base, so far with 3 failed attempts to cube a 5os PB, and one failed attempt with an eth balrog blade (but it ended up 3os, allowing the Lawbringer upgrade).

Stash management isn’t too bad, with Shako now muled off. Wishes on drops are: String of Ears, Gore Riders/War Traveler (Goblin Toe aren’t too bad, but the FRW would be nice), and LoH. Highlord’s and BKWB would also be awesome (and worth it to drop Angelic jewelry, although the AR bonus is really nice), as would Steelshade for Ragnar and Council runs. But his MF is pretty low, so I’m not really holding my breath on any of that. But that should help in the search for bases :)
 
3/8/19

As mentioned, Death has made solid progress, and he’s been the main focus since Pestilence hit 97.75 last weekend. Sadly, Ragnar was finally dismissed during this stretch, as the lost damage from Might aura became too much for me justify, even against the decrep proc from Lawbringer. Given that Death’s too squishy to run Council effectively yet (and the merc even more so, regardless of whether A2 or A5), decrep isn’t essential given the targets that he’s run (LK, Pits, Meph).

He’s now about a quarter of the way into level 90, with some nice upgrades along the way. That is a lot of progress and drops since his last update in mid-February, so apologies in advance for the wall of text :eek:

We started at LK, running p7 to cube up amethysts and gather Ral/Amn, and once the stash got full went to the Pit on p1 looking for bases and then back to LK when we had burned through the socket recipe on eth elite 1x4 swords and phase blades. This approach saw him to level eighty eight, with an early AR GC with life, then successful 4os eth cube on the third attempt (first two had been highland and balrog, with two failed phase blade attempts mixed in) that became an Oath to replace the rare phase blade and pair with Doombringer. As you can see, making Oath also freed up some space in the stash, which had gotten tight.

Shortly after this, I rerolled maps, checking racks on the off chance I could find a needed base in addition to runes focusing only on LK. Death eventually happened upon a really interesting map, which had a semi-stable demonhide sash rack (about 60% of the time) in one of the big, four-room structures immediately above the WP, a fire pit immediately above that with the weapon rack dropping Threshers consistently (maybe closer to 50%)! The downside was it had only the one fire pit. But it had quite some boss packs just in that little stretch also, making decent XP progress at level 87.

So I got stubborn and decided to run it on p7 until String of Ears and a 4os eth Thresher dropped, hoping for runes to allow Grief along the way. The drops did not come quickly, with the first notable drop (aside from a Ruby (10) SC of Good Luck (7)) being Pul #1 from LK a little more than 3/4 toward level eighty eight. Mal #3 dropped shortly after, and then Death’s persistent paid off:
1597012041978.png
It was 8LL, 10% damage reduction, and 14 MDR, and a Ruby SC of Dexterity dropped shortly after, and he pinged the level.

His stash was full again at this point, with ingredients for 3 socket recipes. I thought about going back to the Pit for runeword bases (with makings for a second Oath still stashed). But the Pit map was not good and I still hadn’t gotten a 4os eth Thresher (despite a couple failed cube recipe attempts). So Death decided to stick it out, at least for a while, and culled his charms a bit to free up a little space in the stash to gather makings for Insight.

Very soon thereafter, the rack finally coughed up a 4os eth Thresher, and Death had his Insight makings (it was a terrible roll, and he proceeded to Hel and reroll it seven times before landing on the current one, noted later). So he went back to NM, picked up Hazade, and rerolled maps. He eventually got a nice linear 2 fire LK map with a compact Pit map near the Outer Cloister, and settled in to the same routine of trying Oath bases and phase blades until he ran out of cubing ingredients and then back to LK to restock.

Gul #3 dropped (I had miscalculated runes to cube up to Lo, and he was still a Vex short), followed by this Scintillating Jewel of Strength that replaced the Ruby jewel in Guillame’s to bring Hazade to 69@ resists. Then Death obviously got another SoE, but it was thankfully lower roll on LL. That was followed by a Fine SC of Life.

He was making decent XP progress, as I took on boss packs of leapers and buzzards. This map averaged about 2 bosses/run, and actually fighting during the runs made them feel less like LK runs, i.e., not as tedious. :p I was itching for Grief, so decided that, even though I want to limit his LK runs as much as possible, he would focus on LK, which he did for almost the entire rest of the level. Based on that approach, the next Ko went to a Harmony to speed up the runs, forcing him to finally drop the Angelic Sickle and Rhyme shield. He kept angelic jewelry for the AR.

No major drops, unfortunately, but some decent charm upgrades, and this nice dual leech ring, which I recently muled off after realizing he doesn’t really need it, at least any time soon, and as stash management continues to keep things interesting. Pul #2 was the only other notable drop.

Just before hitting 89, I finally got tired of LK and went back to the Pits, which delivered almost immediately with a Wizardspike (potentially end-game for him) and just after pinging 89 what was probably his next best possible drop along with Reaper’s (aside from runes for Griefs or Enigma):
1597012055046.png
Amazing luck! I guess 56 MF can deliver sometimes :rolleyes: We then went back to LK/Pits, focusing on bases. On his eighth Insight attempt, he finally rolled a keeper, which also meant he could ignore Hel runes and Insight makings again! He eventually rolled a second Oath base (I think this one was attempt #2 after the last one, with three failed phase blade rolls). The Doombringer had served him well, but it finally was dropped in favor of the second Oath.

Despite the upgrade, Council runs were quickly abandoned after a few attempts on p1 due to squishy merc (who has Skin of the Flayed One for armor as best option to give some life leech). So we went back to p8 LK runs taking on boss packs and mixing in other targets for a break, a little Pindle, Pits, and some Andy runs. And this is where things stood when I posted Pestilence’s update last weekend.

An early 8FR SC of Vita dropped in LK. Black Hades from Pindle was interesting due to sockets and +demon damage for Council as a likely improvement over Lionheart, but it was eventually Charsi-ed due to stash limitations. Then another highlight from a base gathered in the Pit and cube socketed:
1597012069879.png
I had dreaded how long it might take to get that, and figured that I'd have the runes before the base. So that's nice to have in hand. Death still had 2 pAmmys, so I decided to roll caster amulets after gathering jewels from LK, and Pul #3 dropped before getting a second jewel. After confirming gambled amulets were high enough ilvl in GoMule, one of his two crafts was this, which he kept and now has equipped for the MF:
1597012082662.png
At this point, he buckled down and focused on LK up to level 90, with only limited breaks for Pit runs when I was wearing down on LK. Drops were: Scintillating SC of Shock, Pul #4, Pul #5, Um #2, Pul #6, Pul #7, Um #3, Gull from the Pit Superchest (!), and the rune highlight:
1597012091589.png
He also picked up a Gheed’s (31 MF) toward the end, which he kept. He’s now at >1500 LK runs, still without runes for Grief. He’s gotten lots of Pul+ drops for the number of runs (in part due to taking on boss packs and horking, as several are from monsters), but they’ve mostly been Puls and Ums. :( Still, he got quite a few other helpful drops along the way that made up for it I think.

He did a few more LK runs after hitting 90, and Crown of Thieves dropped. This (and getting tired of LK) prompted him to give the merc the new helm, equip the Guillame’s himself, and reroll maps to change targets. Guillame’s and Goblin Toe make p3 Meph runs and p5 Pit runs manageable and have gotten him a little more than a quarter of way into the level. We came really close to another end-game drop, but the War Boots were green. Unfortunately, Council is still too tough on Hazade, even on p1.

I think he will get at least to 90.5 this weekend focusing on Meph runs, but then I’ll turn to rolling a good Cow map with Quinta to get ready for RFL Rd 1. I’ll need to go back to LK if he still doesn’t have at least one Grief before RFL Rd 2 and figure out some solution for Hazade if Meph doesn’t deliver (or maybe go back to Barb Merc and roll another Lawbringer).

Anyhow, no extended stash continues to be interesting, with Harmony and some jewelry (Angelic Combo, a second good ML ring with different secondary mods that may be needed, and Mahim amulet) in the cube in his Stash + 5 open squares in the Stash, and 3x4 in his backpack. The 5os PB with Eth and Tir socketed, Arreats, IK boots, two jewels and a second Nagel (28MF) fill out the rest, in addition to runes and gems for cubing up the runes: Ohm, Vex, Ist, Mal, Pul, and 2x Lem, Fal, and Ko, plus a Mal and Ral to finish Grief when we can cube up the Lo. Plus the Sur, so also 1/6th of the way to Enigma!
 
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3/11/19

Patriarch Death and Hazade the A2 Might Merc, Lvl 92
On literally the first Meph run after my update Saturday morning, Bremm Sparklefingers had something hiding in his corpse:
1597012200211.png
With the 5os base he already had, we got ready and had his first Grief:
1597012208881.png
Solid roll, and the better news that he was now only a Vex short of runes for the second Grief! Two runs later, Bremm coughed up Dracul’s, which are cool but were muled off. Only ten minutes later, he picked up a Gul for an extremely productive ~15 minutes, which inspired some focused running for the rest of the weekend :)

The Grief really sped up runs, unsurprisingly. I didn’t have quite enough dext, but had kept a Mahim-oak amulet in case he could build the runeword before leveling. So that was that, and the drops came steadily as we switched between Meph and Pit runs, allowing him to improve gear consistently through the leveling.

These almost-spectacular javazon gloves (1/20 with mana leech and low fire resist) dropped early, followed by Tal’s mask (which replaced Crown of Thieves to allow Hazade to max all resists), eth Verdungo’s, and then this cool Meph drop:
1597012223322.png
It was BKWB and a 29 MF Nagel:
Code:
Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
Ring
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0x2317a876
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
5% Life stolen per hit
+46 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+50 Maximum Stamina
We stuck with the 30 MF Nagel and mana leech ring, but it was cool to have one of those in hand already. As he approached 91, he picked up Crown of Ages. Sadly, it was 1os and low resist (23@), but it was stashed as a potentially nice complement to Reaper’s (2os would have been stellar).
Code:
Crown of Ages
Corona
Defense: 394
Durability: 33 of 50
Required Level: 82
Required Strength: 174
Fingerprint: 0xe9862e03
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Indestructible
+1 to All Skills
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
+50% Enhanced Defense
+145 Defense
All Resistances +23
Damage Reduced by 14%
1 Sockets (0 used)

He then picked up the set Corona, a Steel Charm of Vita, and Duriel’s Shell from the Pit (which replaced a Vipermagi he had found from Meph), and a 21 fire resist RJoF from Meph, for a possible socket filler if he finds an eth Andy’s or for the CoA:
Code:
Steel Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0x8004b1b6
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+36 to Attack Rating
+16 to Life

Ruby Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x868241d7
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
Fire Resist +21%

Shortly after pinging 91, Meph delivered Arachnid’s, which I stashed and now have equipped (more on that later). Only a few runs later, Bremm’s crew delivered another Gul, which allowed him to cube the Lo. With the Mal (and an Um and Ist to spare), he needed only to pick up a Tir and Eth as he went for the makings of Grief #2, minus the base (but that's not a small caveat).

At this point, we split time more evenly between Meph and the Pit. Drops were Gladiator’s Bane (stashed), a Gul from the Pit, and then the biggie at just past the half-way point to 92:
1597012184780.png
Really tremendous luck for him! :D Around this time I took stock of the inventory and realized Death had most of he needed in terms of S/U that Meph could give, and those would eventually drop elsewhere. The base for Grief was the key, so he focused on Pit runs.

I tried Arachnid’s and BKWB at this point, and really liked that better than SoE/Nagel, largely I assume due to +2 skills making faster running from the WP and FCR breakpoint for horking (and maybe the slow from Arachnid’s?). Only notable drop was Vamp Gaze, allowing the Tal’s mask to be muled off.

As for Grief bases, I realize just how lucky he was earlier, not only with the 5os roll (on his sixth attempt) but with finding 6 plain PBs. For this stretch, he found only two plain PBs (which cubed to 2os and 1os), with five blue ones, 2 white superior, and one grey superior that got me briefly excited (2os). Granted, much of 90-91 XP came from Meph runs, as did some of 91-92.

But honestly, Death is not complaining. That 5os base will fall or cube, and he’ll be set. Runs are smooth even without it. He’ll rest here until I finish my RFL Rd 1 set with Quinta, but then Death will return to the Pit in search of that base!

Code:
Grief PB/eth Oath Champ Sword
Wizzy/Gull (Switch)
Guillame’s (Scintillating jewel with +strength)
Lionheart Wyrmhide
Arachnid’s
LoH
Goblin Toe
2/5 caster amulet with fire resist and 25MF
BKWB
Mana leech rare with AR and 11@
Backpack: Mostly resist SC charms, 1 Sharp GC, 1 Steel GC,
Gheed’s, Cube (empty), 5 open spaces

Merc
Vamp Gaze
Duriel’s Shell
Reaper’s

Stash
Glad Bane
CoA
SoE
30 MF Nagel
Nature’s Peace
Mahim-Oak Curio
RJoF x2 (one damage, one fire resist)
Grief runes
SoE upgrade runes (Lem, Ko)
3x cube socket recipe for PBs
Sur, Gul, Ist, Um, Ko
9 open spaces
The only real upgrades, other than 5os PB and better rolls of items he already has (looking at you eth Reaper’s!), are boots (War Traveler and/or Goreriders) and Highlord’s, and Steel GCs. And the runeword armors (Enigma, Fortitude in that order of priority), which I hope RFL Rd2 will contribute toward.
 
3/24/19

After finishing half a set with Quinta for RFL Rd 1, I went back to XP runs. Pestilence is moving toward 3.2B, but Death also got some runs, with another major milestone!

Prior to RFL starting, he was about a tenth of the way, picking up an Arkaine’s (1os), getting ingredients to up his SoE, and getting Set Corona #2. We’d rolled three plain PBs along the way, without success, but they were falling at a faster rate again. Then, after one more unsuccessful cube attempt, a grey PB fell, and it was a winner:
1597012277584.png
We got ready and rolled Grief #2, with really good results :D
1597012286809.png
He’s now a little more than a third into the level, allowing p7 runs now, and I’m thinking he may get to 93 prior to start of RFL Rd 2. Here’s hoping he gets a nice high rune drop along the way!

Keep up the progress everyone!
 
4/12/19

Patriarch Death and Hazade the A2 Might Merc, Lvl 93 (pic)
Death finished up his last few Pit runs, went back to use his last respec, and is ready for RFL Rd 2 when I get back. I made sure to get base strength and dext to equip gear without +stats, with the rest to vita. I ended up going with CoA/GBane on the merc, with a realgar jewel for now. I will likely swap in the Ral once I find it and a Hel.

Sadly, no major item upgrades or runes, but a very nice charm was really the only thing to show for 92-93:
1597156486129.png
From here on out, I’m hoping to focus on Council until Engima. If he’s extremely lucky, the 20-hour RFL set is all he will need (fingers crossed).

I will likely also do Pit runs with Pestilence as a break to ping 98 before the end of Rd 2. That will then allow getting comfortable with Nihl runs before RFL Rd 3, with those 20 hours hopefully getting him close to 1/5 into the last level. It will also allow Trav runs with Death and Baal runs with Quinta as breaks over that three-week stretch. So plenty of good options with the untwinked 99ers to keep things moving :)

Good luck to everyone running RFL Rd 2, and those continuing the push for XP with their untwinked 99ers.
 
5/4/19

Patriarch Death and Hazade the A2 Might Merc, Lvl 94 (pic)
Death was my entry for RFL Rd 2, which allowed him to make some nice progress on a couple of fronts. A more detailed rundown is here in my post from the results thread, but the big takeaways were that he had very, very nice rune luck, actually taking second despite not having Enigma until the 15-hour mark.

Speaking of which, here’s the cubed Ber after the Sur dropped, the preparation with one of the Jahs dropped from Council and a 3os Mage Plate that had been taking up room in his stash since shortly before he hit level 93, and the major upgrade:
1597156669768.png
Other major improvements for Death were:
- His second fire resist RJoF, which went into the 1os CoA and has been Hazade’s hat since;
- This nice FCR ML ring that will be handy to keep 105 FCR on switch once he finds an upgrade for his 2/5 caster amulet;
- Wisp Projector that may get use for Baal runs;
- 250/19 Ravenfrost (currently equipped); and
- 50 MF War Travelers as an alternate to Goblin Toe.

There were other nice drops, of course, but those are the ones that he will likely use at some point without expectation to find an upgrade to replace it. His haul pick (after he’d done some Baal runs) shows remaining runes, so quite a nice haul and closing in on Lo for merc Fortitude and Ber for Beast.
1597156678825.png
As noted in the results thread:
"This round gives the barb some interesting options for Nihl at 98-99 with Concentrate build. Cham in a helm for CBF for merc or to free up ring slot. Or he can cube a Zod and potentially have eBoTD if he picks up an eth berz axe."

The one hiccup was his second death: I hadn’t heard my wife get home, and I got startled right as Death was whirling through overlapping might and HF aura-ed Council. He died before I could hit Esc, but I successfully recovered the corpse to minimize XP loss.

So he was just shy of 93.6 at the end of the 20-hour set. Baal runs saw him to 93.8, and then I decided to farm essences for two respec tokens, planning to use one to rebalance stats and skills (Find Item is no longer needed) and have another handy in case needed based on future drops. Meph runs generated a Bane Ash, CS runs yielded a Gheeds upgrade, and Diablo dropped a slight Reaper’s upgrade, 216ED/13LL vs 212ED/12LL. He had also found a Reaper’s during RFL set, but it was worse on all fronts than his first.

Aside from charms, he’s nicely equipped, with Gore Riders and amulet (Metalgrid/Mara’s/Highlord’s) the meaningful upgrades remaining for Death, and Andy’s for Hazade. On the charm front, his resists are a bit low for lightning, with low poison also an annoyance for Achmel. He has three 126+ AR Steel GCs with minor secondary mods, the Gheed’s, and a 10/71 Sharp GC, with the rest a mix of resist/AR SCs with secondary mods. So much room for improvement in the backpack.
Code:
Gear
Grief PB x2
Wizzy x2 (Switch)
Guillame’s (Ruby damage jewel +strength)
Enigma Mage Plate
SoE (8LL/12% DR/14 mdr, missing Lem to up)
LoH
War Traveler (50 MF)
2/5 caster amulet with fire resist and 25MF
250/19 Ravenfrost
Mana leech rare with 120 AR and 19 LR
Backpack: Full with 1 Sharp GC, 3 Steel GC, Cube (with Goblin Toe), the rest SCs

Merc
CoA socketed with 18 FR RJoF
Duriel’s Shell
Reaper’s

Stash
Vamp Gaze
Arachnid’s
Gheed’s
Wisp, BKWB x2, dual leech rare, 10 FCR/ML rare
RJoF x2 (one damage, one fire resist)
SoE upgrade ingredients (Ko, pDiamond)
5 SCs with resists
Cham, Jah x2, Sur, Ohm, Gul, Ist
Token, 3 essences, armor cube recipe ingredients (for eth elite armor)

I will use the Token to respec (likely maxing Shout and adding a couple extra points to Natural Resistance) and then he will get a lengthy break. The next Baal runs will be with Quinta, who’s ready to start her push to 96.5.
 
7/6/19

Death has continued his steady progress, now at half way to 95, with 45 or so Baal runs behind him for the level and some Pit and CS mixed in. He’s still a little squishy (and the merc in particular) for certain Lister rolls, and we’ve tried quite a few gear tweaks along the way before setting on the current set up. But the mid-level update is due to a long-awaited drop :D

An early Gul in the Pit allowed him to cube up to an Vex, so either a Vex, Ohm (with another stashed) or Lo away from Fortitude for the merc. Speaking of which, this eth Archon Plate found off a boss pack got 4os in the cube, so it’s made minus the final Lo rune.

Further in, we got another Lem to up the SoE, followed by a lengthy dry spell before Andy’s dropped from a random monster in the Throne Room :) The Larzuk Hell quest reward later, it had the RJoF for faster decrep proc’ing, and the Vamp is likely obsolete (but still stashed because there is plenty of room). The only other drop of note was a +2 skill Arkaine’s from Baal.

I’m hoping to push Quinta to 97.25 (currently at 97.15), so I will likely stop Baal runs with Death, and maybe focus on CS. Gripp runs with him have been pretty solid and fairly relaxed, so I may use that as a break when Nihl and Baal are wearing me down.

My hope is that Death can hit 95 and Quinta 97.25 before Pestilence pings that last level, all hopefully before MFO starts in six weeks. But with the fun of my Overburdened tourney Druid (at least so far) and likelihood that I’ll keep pushing him along also, that may be a bit overambitious though :rolleyes:

Edit: Did a little tidying of the tables, moving any characters with last update from November 2018 or earlier into the resting heroes table, except people who've indicated they are still running at later levels even without an update.
 
9/22/19

Patriarch Death and Hazade the A2 Might Merc, Lvl 95 (pic)
Death also got some time, focusing on Baal for the last half of the level. He hadn’t made any progress since his last update in July, and started getting time again at the beginning of this month.

He did a little CS early on, picking up the set Vortex Shield. He also threw in some LK runs because this Baal map was a nice 2-fire map near the WP, and he still needs a Vex-Lo for merc’s Fortitude, picking up an Um for this stretch of LK. And nothing worth mentioning from Baal runs, which isn't too surprising.

He’s picking up flawless amethysts/rubies and relevant runes, hoping for a lucky craft (5+ FCR and ML amulet is interesting for Nihl runs, as are a nice pair of blood gloves).
 
2/8/20

Quiet in this thread with the OBP tourney going on. My Barb, Death, hit 95.5. No major drops, but the gambles and crafts were spectacular, and I have another 5 years added to my "no complaining" probationary period :D

As mentioned, Death got some Baal in as breaks while Quinta made the final push to 99 in November and December. During that time, he gambled this amulet:
1597156923618.png
It will be quite handy for Nihl! Then, as he approached 95.25, he crafted this amulet, which fit his needs beautifully (I thought I had taken a screenie from when it was gambled, but couldn't find it, so I just took one):
1597156933498.png
The FCR means he hits 105 FCR breakpoint on switch with double Wizzy, and the mana leech and MF are great modifiers to have. I ended up using an AR/ML ring with lightning resist and SoE for life leech, and he had nearly 200 MF for the Baal runs.

There were multiple trolls with Goreriders (3x Green and several rare). He also has some AR issues (69% cth with Baal), so metalgrid would be handy, and Highlord's might prompt a switch to FCR/ML ring despite sweet craft. He was averaging around 4 minutes per run, until another pair of Goblin Toe dropped around 95.4, upping crushing blow to 60%, and shaving ~20s off each run, largely from Lister and Baal.

He bails if Lister has Might or Fanaticism, and if a mana burn roll gets him stuck in dangerous situation (usually amp is involved), but otherwise he's doing full Baal runs with p1 Achmel. It should average out to 275 runs for the level, so ~138 left for the level. The only other drop of note was a Pul. He is still a Vex or Ohm short of Fortitude for Merc, and also has runes for Delirium except for a Lem. He has had two close calls with S&E due to <1000 HP from nasty Lister rolls, so definitely something to be alert to. Dolls and Gloams are annoying at times in the Throne Room, but haven't really been dangerous, so hopefully that continues. Having nearly maxed LR on Grief switch certainly helps with Gloams!

The limitation of no extended stash continues to be an interesting wrinkle, as he stashed the 50MF WTs, and now has only 3-5 1x1 spots open depending on how many flawless amethysts he has. Making the fortitude would help considerably, both from stash management and to finally drop the Duriels on the merc.

Keep up the good progress, everyone, especially @Luhkoh on the final level. I'm looking forward to renewed activity here once the OBP tourney wraps.
 
2/18/20

Patriarch Death and Hazade the A2 Might Merc, Lvl 96 (pic)
Death has about 1550 Baal runs to lvl 98 (more when factoring in p1 Achmel and bailing on nasty Lister rolls). The last half of the level went smoothly. Tedium hasn’t set in yet!

Part of the reason is that I’ve mixed in runs for Essences to tweak the skill/stat allocation. After the discussion of boot options in the absence of Gore Riders for my last update, Brem delivered the goods. I decided to keep the best of both worlds, with Goblin Toe in the cube for Lister and Baal and Gore Riders for the first part of the run. It doesn’t really add time due to delay between waves. At this point, I stopped picking up flawless amethysts due to tightening of the stash.

About 95.75, Baal delivered an eth Arkaine’s (2 skill), which prompted my update to the eth Grail table. I’d also cubed the Lem and found an Io by that point for Delirium makings, with a 3os mask eventually dropping to make that runeword. It didn’t help speed the waves, maybe because WW doesn’t allow boss targeting and decrep overriding confuse for the wave? Not sure, but after 10 runs, I went back to Andy’s, but kept Delirium stashed, and finished up the level last night. The ping drop from Baal was fun, with another Arachnids and unique amulet (Nokazon).

I culled the stash a bit more, muling off one of the BKWB and the Wisp, along with a LL rare ring that isn’t really better than the other BKWB. So down to BKWB, 10 FCR/ML ring, prismatic amulet with iDR, 40 MF Gheeds, 50 MF WT, 4s eth Archon Plate missing Lo, runes (Cham, Jah x2, Sur, Ohm, Vex, Um, Pul), Delirium, 2 tokens, 2x essences minus Baal for two more tokens, pDiamond and Tal (missing Shael to up Goblin Toe), Arachnid’s, 2 SCs with resists and vita. Once the tokens are made, he will have plenty of stash space, and the Fortitude will really open things up.
 
5/27/19 - Overburdened Tourney Entry

I need to get an untwinked Druid going and this sounds like a good long-term project to get him moving. He will be dual elemental, likely maxing fissure and tornado, along with Grizzly. I am thinking Hurricane and Oak sage for extra points?

He will be softcore in case of death to allow him to continue along. I have another Druid -- pure fire -- on my laptop, started about a year ago and played only when traveling for work. If Septimus doesn't make it into hell before a death, I may leave him be and focus on the other when the time comes. But this build seems like fun to give a go, likely going with cold rogue.

Code:
Forum Name     Hero Name      Class        Level    HC/SC    Last Waypoint       Personalized Item
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
hackedagainanda Oxygen        Paladin        13     HC       Stony Field         -
Dazliare        Tryste        Sorceress      12     HC       Cold Plains         -
srrw            TBA           TBA             0     HC       Rogue Encampment    -
PhineasB        Septimus      Druid           0     SC       Rogue Encampment    -
 
9/27/19

Well, I decided it was time to enter the seventh character, a Fire Druid named Septimus. He got his start in the Overburdened tourney, making it through death-free. Progress, etc. was highlighted in his Pat thread here.

He finished things up at ~84.5. Gear was poor due to playthough with no extended stash and his drops along the way, so limited +skills, limited MF, no Insight for merc, etc. He also hadn’t picked up runeword bases, so he was without 4os bow or insight base.

I tested out targets in NM and Hell at low psettings as a break off-and-on through August: NM Meph, Hell Andy, Hell Meph, AT, Hell LK, Hell Pindle, NM and Hell Cows. That saw him a little ways into level 85. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even take on NM Meph very well, although that did provide a Goldwrap. And other Act bosses weren’t really workable for extended runs. But he also picked up a 30MF Nagelring along the way. So p1 Pindle it was, with a shopped wand of Lower Resist up to lvl 86 a few weeks ago, with no gear upgrades.

After Quinta hit 98.25 this weekend, I decided to hold off on more Nihl runs until mini RFL started, and wasn’t feeling Baal runs. So I went back to He then ran some LK, hoping for bases (he had runes for Insight and Harmony) and taking on boss packs. He got an amulet upgrade (+3 elemental with dexterity), Pul #1, Skullder’s, a second skiller, and finally a Harmony base. He had also picked up just shy of 50 runes by this point and some decent resist charms, plus a really nice 123 AR/40 vita GC that Death would have appreciated.

Most importantly, he picked up Sur #1 and his LK map also had a rack that dropped CVs about 1-out-of-3 times and the occasional Thresher. About halfway through, he finally rolled a CV 4os in the cube, but the merc didn’t have strength to equip until Naj circlet dropped from a boss pack. But an eth CV had dropped by that point, which also picked up 4os. The merc lost life leech until a 3os armor finally dropped allowing Lionheart and a switch back to circlet with leech.

With those upgrades, Septimus returned to pindle at p5 and hit 87 on Wednesday. He then rolled a new and improved LK map, equipped Harmony, shopped a teleport staff, and finished a spectacular 50-rune set that produced Pul #2, Mal #1, Sur #2 from a poppable, and Gul #1. There were also some vita SCs and slight resist charm upgrades. So 1/3 of the way to Enigma, and only a Gul needed for HotO!

LK has actually been a pleasant break, so I expect to get more 25- or 50-rune sets in here and there, and potentially hitting pindle to gain a level if runes fall for HotO. The AT entrance is also pretty close to that WP, so he may test out p1 AT runs for levels, which worked well for the fire druid on my laptop.

He’s playing with extended stash now, and is still death-free, which is a goal to keep throughout this journey.
 
11/18/19

Welcome to the new and returning entrants in this challenge! It’s very nice to see things continue to remain active, as it’s great to have company in this sort of journey. Speaking of which . . .

Septimus reached level 90, where he’s likely to stay for a while. We left off in his last update (and first here after he reached Patriarch in the Overburdened tourney) at level 87, with the focus on LK. The thought was that he might transition back to leveling at Pindle if he found runes for HotO, which is exactly what happened.

He had found 100 runes from LK in last update and continued to 250 runes found, netting Mal #2, Mal #3, Gul #2, and Gul #3. The second Gul allowed Heart of the Oak, with the third joining the two Surs in the stash and still a third of the way to Enigma.

He then returned to Pindle, with the weapon upgrade allowing p7 runs with the lower resist wand, and some occasional AT runs given the nice WP location. That made for solid XP gain, with useful drops being Crown of Thieves to finally have nice life leech in the helm to pair with Lionheart for the merc, Lidless from AT allowing extra power from shield (and dropping 3 pDiamond shield with resists from HotO), and Duriel’s toward the end for CBF and alternative to Lionheart. There was also an IK armor mixed in, and finally having a base for Rhyme for extra MF on the Pindle runs. I think he had ~350MF for runs once he filled out a 3s mask with pTopzes and built the Rhyme.

* * *

He’s now back in LK, with the goal to mix in small batches when needing a break from Nihl runs with Quinta and not feeling up for Baal runs with Death, and not being focused enough to risk progressing my Three Way Dance characters in HC. So it will be pretty limited, and I think I am feeling the cumulative effects of LK runs, as completing a 25-rune set yesterday got a bit slog-y :rolleyes:

I think that also foreshadows the likelihood that we will respec to a Windy for leveling. Infinity is really necessary for fire Druid to progress with any modicum of speed on XP. There aren’t other reasonable targets beyond AT and Pindle, and I don’t think Enigma on its own will make AT realistic for leveling in the mid-90s. Mad props to @Pb_pal for sticking with fire on Klaus (and the whole untwinked HC 99er thing ;)), but I don’t think Septimus will fulfill his namesake if that much LK is in his future at this stage .

Quinta has resumed her progress, and I’m hopeful she will finish her journey before year’s end, with a stretch goal of also pushing Death to 96 before she pings. Keep up the progress everyone!
 
1/16/20 -- OBP Tourney Prep

My untwinked 99er Druid ended up finishing 500 Meph runs. On top of the nice drops from run 350 - 450 noted earlier, he picked up Stormshield and an SoJ over the last 50 runs:
1597157763868.png
1597157773898.png
The SoJ is really nice because Reaper's on merc was tough with mana management. We then did a little LK in the hopes of charm upgrades without luck there but a decent 2/9 Druid caster ammy to compliment this 2 skill Druid amulet found at Meph:
1597157784483.png
1597157806569.png
Mara's would probably be preferred for skills and stats, given that he doesn't need FCR, but it's nice to have options!

He also picked up Stormtrek from Meph, which are now equipped and give a nice boost to poison resist, while leaving him 2 more FHR SCs short of 99 breakpoint for 1-H swinging weapon (and comfortably at 7 frames). I accidentally sold the Gheeds he'd found from Meph during a gambling session (oops) and it wasn't available to buy back in vendor screen. But it was only 22% MF anyhow, so not a major loss. He's just shy of 200% MF (he could get another 30% from Goldwrap in exchange for Arachnids, which may happen depending on how RoF runs go).

The goal is to roll a 2-chest RoF map close to WP, hopefully similar to the one Phaedrus had with 3-4 boss packs on the way. I'm thinking p3 will be the best option, because he doesn't seem to be a powerhouse even with +36 to tornado.

Good luck to everyone! I look forward to seeing the drops and different approaches.
 
2/15/20

Patriarch Septimus, Windy Druid, and Hazade the A2 Might Merc, Lvl 92 (pic)
Septimus left off at level 90 back in November, having found 250 runes at LK, with HotO made and 2 Surs stashed. He was running Pindle and AT and was still a pure fire Druid, until he finally got a 4os Monarch in AT, which became Spirit.

He then respec’ed to Windy and focused on Meph in preparation for the Off the Beaten Path tourney. He rolled a great map, and completed 500 Meph runs that delivered quality drops (screenshots and updates are here and here): Magefist, 2/2 Tornado pelt, Reapers (lowest roll but still a key drop for Windy), Arachnids (awesome to have), Stormshield (may get used for Baal runs), SoJ (fantastic to offset loss of Insight), and a 2/9 caster amulet.

He then completed a 10-hour set at RoF superchests for the OBP tourney, eventually having to drop to p1 or p3, mostly p1. I was under no illusions he would be competitive, but his haul of only 5 rune qualifiers (2x Hel, 2x Io and 1x Lum) and only 4 S/U qualifiers (none better than Nos Coil) only certainly earned last place among all entrants. But he found another skiller (his third), a Cold Skiller of Sustenance (33), and a Gaean Coronet of the Whale (98), which may be a candidate for Larzuk down the road.

He was just short of 91.4 when he finished the OBP set. He had found another 100 runes from LK before OBP tourney started, and completed up to another 250 runes found (for a total of 500 runes found from LK so far), with nothing higher than Lem for this 250-rune set :\ He then finished the rest of the level with Pit runs, as a break from LK, netting a Fortuitous Amulet of Fortune (36% MF) and an Ist.

He’s still death free, and I think he will roll a good 2-fire LK map and get some runs in as breaks from Baal runs with Death and if I don’t have the focus for questing my Runeword Bonanza Sept characters through Hell.

Looking forward to continued progress from others. I also did some tidying of the tables, moving characters without update since May 2019 into the resting heroes table.

Edit: I forgot to mention, he can gear for 163 FCR, which he did for the Pit runs. Vipermagi, Magefist, Arachnid's, HotO, Spirit and the 2/9 caster amulet get him there with a FCR ring, allowing SoJ and the 2/2 pelt for lvl 37 Tornado at 163 FCR making p8 Pit runs quite manageable.
 
9/1/19

As mentioned, I planned to enter when my untwinked necro hit 99. I haven’t played HC really, so we’ll see how this goes. I am starting HC, so plan to keep items to start building up a stash (i.e., not contributing to prize stash).

I made a little progress in late July, but then started in earnest after MFO. My team is the Spirited Helenes, with the theme of lesser spirits from Greek mythology:
- Eleos, the Spirit of Mercy/Compassion. She’s in honor of my untwinked 99er sin, Mercy, and will be a standard trapper with merc package.
- Tyche, the Spirit of Luck/Good Fortune/Fate. (Hoping she is more on the luck side than fate side!) She’ll be a Blova with merc package and do the bulk of MFing for the group once they get to NM.
- Kratos, the Spirit of Strength/Power. He’ll be Holy Freeze/Holy Shock Zealot and will have weapon/helm for his rewards.

The plan for Normal was to go through on p7, except p3 for Duriel and p1 for Countess, early A3, and Diablo/Ancients/Baal. There was a slight change up for Tyche due to mana management issues, as she went with p3 starting at A2.

I was looking forward to not full-clearing outside the more traditional tourney setting, so fairly direct playthroughs would be the order of the day, with a little rerunning targets/areas if the mood caught me. It’s really nice without full-clear pressure of tourneys because it’s easier to get 10-15 minute chunks of time to progress. The TC3 drops came pretty consistently in A1, which was pretty cool.

Kratos (HF/HS Zealot)
He was the first to progress, on the theory that sorcs can be somewhat fragile early on. He moved through A1 smoothly, with first decent runes from Countess (Tal, Eth), with Biggin’s dropping in the Jail, and then on to Andy, who fell easily. Entering A2, I focused on gambling pikes, with jackpot on the first gamble:
View attachment 15061
Nice, and the rest of the team was now set for A2 merc weapon. Then luck struck again (and it wasn’t even Tyche), with this nice MF amulet dropping while questing early in the act:
View attachment 15062
He also shopped 25 MF boots and 21 MF gloves, and later gambled 21 MF rare boots. We then got Greyform in the Maggot Lair. That’s where things stopped with early progress, picking back up this week after MFO. Except for, of course, picking the Summoners arm as the fourth one explored in AS, there was little excitement up to Duriel, who actually provided a nice drop:
View attachment 15063
The Twitchthroe was kept as possible merc armor for the other two characters with merc package. He has since moved to the start of A3.

Tyche (Blova, eventually)
She was next, although in retrospect, I should have had her last. A1 was a bit slow toward the end due to limited mana and damage from merc. Except for a nice Countess drop (Ral, Tal, Eth), there was nothing of note up to the Barracks, where Rixot’s dropped. Slow and steady up to Andy, who feel easily enough, with nothing of note in her drop.

I wasted a jewel of envy in a short sword for some reason, rather than saving up for another bow to replace 3s chipped emerald one, and of course got a second one later on :rolleyes:

I ended up pumping charged bolt early, planning to respect to Blizz at some point after level 24. She dropped to p3 because she was chugging mana pots. I will likely keep her there through Normal, with some leveling at Pindle before NM when the time comes.

Arcane Sanctuary was fun, and I really didn’t mind picking the right arm last :) Duriel went down in a heap with nothing useful in the drop. I was a little worried at how close she’d need to get for Static to work given low level. But it was fine with defrost potions pumped for her and merc, needed only one trip to down to bump merc’s health bulb.

Eleos (Trapper)
This gal has been a blast, especially because she was nicely geared. She made short work of things up to Countess (Ral and Eth), and similarly sailed through to Andy, who had a fun but ultimately useless drop. She had a nice map, so ran Andy twice more, picking up a second Rixot’s.

She then gambled a nice belt at the start of A2, and then decided to use her chipped/flawed diamonds on savage polearm rolls, netting a Partizan on the first one:
View attachment 15064
We made quick progress to Duriel, who went down in a heap with only one town trip needed for mana pots (she had just hit lvl 24 and LS). At the start of A3, we stuck some amethysts in a 2s helm and one socket of a 3s armor, using a jewel of freedom that had dropped on a chippie-rerolled 2os Brutal Partizan:
View attachment 15065
So the mercs should be pretty powerful for the next little bit, with 1os left on the Partizan and flexibility with the armor 4 levels after equipping at lvl 23.

While the other two characters had found almost no useful charms in A1 and A2 (only three 5/6 resist SCs), she made up for it. She picked up two Lightning resist GCs, another Fire, and a fourth one with Poison, along with three more low resist SCs. So, at the start of A3, she had 44/33/63/66 for resists and 166 MF.

She moved through A3 smoothly, getting Lightning Sentry prior to the Council. Notable finds were a nice rare FCR ring with mana and MF, another interesting potential merc armor in Hawkmail from Council, and unique Yew Wand (which has been stashed due to Tyche finding a 20FCR wand with boosts to energy and mana and DV charges). Meph went down after being moated with nothing useful in his drops.

* * *

Eleos was parked at the end of the Act until Tyche finished A2 earlier this am. She can now move forward to A4. I plan to split time between this project and Nihl runs with my untwinked 99er zon. But next up here will be Kratos completing A3. Tyche found a 10@ 3os rondache that will get 3 diamonds to get his resists approaching max without needing any charms, so he can start gathering damage charms :D

Team: Spirited Helenes (PhineasB) – 42 pts
Eleos - (Sin: Traps/Shadow - 10) - lvl 27 - Act IV N – 18 pts
Tyche - (Sorc: Cold/Light - 10) - lvl 23 - Act III N – 12 pts
Kratos - (Pala: Offensive/Combat - 7/1) - lvl 25 - Act III N – 12 pts
 
11/16/19

It’s been awhile, but we are still in it. We got all three to the end of A3 Normal before I left for vacation in October, and then returned to this project today, getting our first Destroyer and some nice item upgrades.

Eleos (Standard trapper)
We left off at the start of A3. Not much to report, as she moved through easily with solid resists from charms swapped among characters, sticking with p7 until Meph (p3). She picked up the first Amn from Brem, which went into the 2s Savage Partizan to give life leech, which was nice. Meph went down easily enough with nothing useful dropping. She’s still at the beginning of A4, so the next to progress.

Kratos (HF/HS Zealot)
He was next up to tackle A3, again with little to report . . . actually nothing to report. Slow and steady at p7 to ensure he didn’t get swarmed, with the merc much sturdier with the life leech. No meaningful drops, with Meph drop providing nothing of use.

That was before vacation, and I picked back up with him this morning as the first to tackle A4. He rolled a map with stairs immediately to the south, and eventually took down Izual. I am looking forward to the character reward and access to crushing blow to speed up those fights in NM :rolleyes: HF provided Eth, and then he carefully navigated CS.

I was nervous about Diablo, but it was not an issue, with maxed fire allowing him to tank the firestorms and lightning hose tank-able with a health potion. It took one trip to town for potions, and we prevailed:
View attachment 52191

Tyche (Blova)
The sorc was next up, and we used the respec to Blizz from Charged Bolt, allowing Ice Blast to be nearly maxed. She continued on p1 due to mana issues, and blitzed through, picking up a Tal from HF and taking down Diablo with ease. The orb was useful (lots of mana and FCR with resists and FO charges), but rendered obsolete before she could equip it :)

At p1, A5 went quickly, and she picked up the first Sol in Crystalline Passage, which will hopefully become an Insight very soon. She rescued Anya, and the reward was quite nice:
View attachment 52192
The +mana was helpful, and +skill and FCR were useful. She had just hit level 30, and Pindle coughed up some nice tri-resist gloves on the way to Nihl, who dropped easily. She then Pindled at p3 to level 34 before moving on. Baal fell, and she became the first Destroyer:
View attachment 52193
She then levelled to 40 at Pindle (p5 and then p8). Useful finds were a Bloodletter (that Kratos will likely use for early NM), and an upgrade for Kratos’ shield:
Code:
Armageddon Ward
Aerin Shield
Defense: 26
Chance to Block: 42
Durability: 34 of 50
Required Level: 15
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x517ca5b0
Item Level: 45
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+17% Faster Hit Recovery
+30% Faster Block Rate
20% Increased Chance of Blocking
All Resistances +15
Fire Resist +6% 2 Sockets (0 used)

* * *

Team: Spirited Helenes (PhineasB) – 69 pts
Eleos
- (Sin: Traps/Shadow - 10) - lvl 27 - Act IV N – 18 pts
Tyche
- (Sorc: Cold/Light - 10) - lvl 40 - Act V N – 30 pts
Kratos
- (Pala: Offensive/Combat - 7/1) - lvl 32 - Act V N – 21 pts
 
11/24/19

It was time for a break from the Untwinked 99ers, so we returned to the HC crew. All three are now Destroyers, with some gear building ahead now that slots are unlocked.

Eleos (Standard trapper)
We picked up with her at the start of A4 later in the weekend after my last update. After the experience with Tyche, she progressed at p3, with the plan to level at Pindle before moving to NM. As with A3, she moved through easily, which isn’t surprising given lower p-setting. No meaningful drops, with Diablo falling without need for a town trip.

She then plowed through A5, again on p3, picking up a Fine LC of Sustenance that went to Kratos, before taking down Nihl. Baal then fell, and she made Destroyer:
View attachment 52331
She then leveled to 40 at Pindle and then moved to NM, where she currently sits.

Kratos (HF/HS Zealot)
He picked back up earlier today, and moved through A5 at p7 until Crystalline passage, when the chilling effect without CBF and zeal prompted a downgrade to p3 to be safe. I’m glad of that decision, as it would have been tedious otherwise.

Nothing of note until Frozenstein, which was the first real danger spot for any of the trio. I hadn’t run forward fast enough to keep them stacked up on the bridge from where Anya was imprisoned. He almost got surrounded and the merc got smoked, but Kratos was able to get out and run far enough away to safely TP back to town. The team pulled them back safely to the next bridge and got them stacked up nicely for a safe fight.

Smooth sailing to Baal, who fell and dropped a skiller of all things o_O
View attachment 52332
I kept it for now, given that it’s a tree that Eleos is using. Too bad it wasn’t Traps though. He then made Destroyer at level 41 without any re-running of areas:
View attachment 52333
Given his momentum, I decided to tackle A1 NM, at least until he gathered some bases, most importantly for insight. He stayed at p3, equipped the Bloodletter, and moved smoothly up to Countess, whose crew dropped an Io that will hopefully become a Black for boss fights when we find a 3os hammer. A partizan fell but got 2os, before a Halberd dropped with 4os, and was muled off at Inner Cloister for Tyche to make an Insight.

Kratos then took down Andy, needing two trips to town to replenish potions and resurrect merc (who died every time she stepped back to pop at TP :rolleyes:). He had picked up a 3os bow, so took out Radament and made Edge before burning through gold on gambles for Polearm-types and circlets. He picked up a 29MF circlet and a 20@ with +75 mana rare one that is stashed for possible use by Tyche questing.

We still would like a 4os Partizan (or Bill) for Insight upgrade, and a 3os mask to supercharge the MF (although we only have 1 pTopaz and two flawless, so not a major rush).

* * *

Team: Spirited Helenes (PhineasB) – 97 pts
Eleos
- (Sin: Traps/Shadow - 10) - lvl 40 - Act I NM – 30 pts
Tyche
- (Sorc: Cold/Light - 10) - lvl 40 - Act I NM – 30 pts
Kratos
- (Pala: Offensive/Combat - 7/1) - lvl 48 - Act II NM – 37 pts
 
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