Random Tournament 2020 Stay/Shelter-in-Place/Home Edition

So no big write-up this time because I have forgotten most of what happened in Act III...but here we are! Born to be kings, we're the...wait, no, that was something else.

Anyways, it was a long fight against Mephisto, but thanks to a level 20 Valkyrie not a dangerous one. Once my merc died I simply opted not to resurret him because he wasn't worth his money against Mephisto. The Valkyrie though...tough as nails!
Screenshot031.jpg

I had to repair my javelins 9-10 times or so and *poof* there was the soulstone:
Screenshot032.jpg



Code:
     Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Last Waypoint          Points
     ----------------- -------------------- ------- ------ ---------------------- -------
     Babyhell          Frida                Ama     84     WSK 2 Hell             45 (Guardian)
     Vang              Bludgeon             Pal     76     Black Marsh H          31 (RIP)
SP   Jcakes            Rurisk               Pal     73     Rogue Encampment H     30
SP   Grisu             Pynache              Ama     64     NM Panda Fortress      27
SP   Pb_pal            Silika               Asa     57     NM Kurast Docks        24
SP   Vildecor          Daphydae             Ama     48     Rogue Encampment NM    18
SP   Jcakes            Nightshade           Asa     47     Rogue Encampment NM    18 (RIP)
SP   DariusTriplet     Vegas                Pal     41     Rogue Encampment NM    15
     Vang              Aergh                Nec     31     Rogue Encampment NM    15
     Vang              Shiv                 Asa     46     Rogue Camp NM          15 (RIP)
     QueenEm           Groot                Dru     45     Rogue Camp (NM)        15
     Vang              Shockingly           Sor     35     Highlands              13 (RIP)
     Swamigoon         Niminy               Bar     28     Arreat Plateau         13 (RIP)
     QueenEm           RandomQueen          Sorc    31     Pandemonium Fortress   10 (RIP)
SP   Dazliare          IronChad             Bar     28     Kurast Docks            9
     Swamigoon         Witgat               Dru     22     Canyon o' Magi          4 (RIP)
SP   Babyhell          BrianTribute         Dru     25     Arcane Sanctuary        3
     Swamigoon         Cuckoo               Dru     17     Halls o' Dead 2         4 (RIP)
SP   CaseyJones        Turgruel             Pal     20     Act 2 Sewers            3
SP   b1ur              Lynn                 Ama     20     Lut Gholein             3
 
Well, NM Diablo is no more!
Screenshot041.jpg


The journey before was safe but slow:

Izual and his bazillion hit points were no obstacle once I positioned the Valkyrie and merc such, that Izual was only attacking the Valkyrie. I kept my merc alive that way, who was still using Hexfire back then - not the worst against only 30% Fire Resitance.
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But no weapon I wanted him to face Diablo with...


It is funny, how NM Diablo is way easier than Normal Diablo, even with mediocre gear at best. I did gear up though before facing the Lord of Terror:

Screenshot035.jpg
This went into this:
Code:
           Harmony
Long Battle Bow
TirIthSolKo
     Two Hand Damage: 20 - 75
     Durability: 34 of 44
     Required Level: 39
     Required Strength: 40
     Required Dexterity: 50
     Fingerprint: 0x9e3a24aa
     Item Level: 56
     Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 10 Vigor Aura When      Equipped
     269% Enhanced Damage
     +9 to Minimum Damage
     +9 to Maximum Damage
     Adds 55 - 160 Fire Damage
     Adds 55 - 160 Lightning Damage
     Adds 55 - 160 Cold Damage Over 6 Secs (146 Frames)
     +3 to Valkyrie
     +10 to Dexterity
     Regenerate Mana 20%
     +2 to Mana after each Kill
     +2 to Light Radius
     Level 20 Revive (25/25 Charges)
4      Sockets (4 used)
     Socketed: Tir Rune
     Socketed: Ith Rune
     Socketed: Sol Rune
     Socketed: Ko Rune

And I found a spare Ko Rune from the Hell Forge for later use:
Screenshot037.jpg

I am really glad I locked Valkyrie as a forever skill, because - man! she can tank!!! Hephasto wasn't even a problem.

Screenshot036.jpg

I upgraded my merc's gear with what I had: a 2 os Rune Sword was used for "Strength", a Zweihander cubed into a 5 os Zweihander and used for "Honor":

Code:
           Honor
Zweihander
AmnElIthTirSol
     One Hand Damage: 58 - 100
     Two Hand Damage: 84 - 149
     Durability: 44 of 50
     Required Level: 27
     Required Strength: 125
     Required Dexterity: 94
     Fingerprint: 0xa00cc80a
     Item Level: 51
     Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
     160% Enhanced Damage
     +9 to Minimum Damage
     +9 to Maximum Damage
     +250 to Attack Rating
     7% Life stolen per hit
     25% Deadly Strike
     +10 to Strength
     Replenish Life +10
     +2 to Mana after each Kill
     +1 to Light Radius
5      Sockets (5 used)
     Socketed: Amn Rune
     Socketed: El Rune
     Socketed: Ith Rune
     Socketed: Tir Rune
     Socketed: Sol Rune    


           Strength
Rune Sword
AmnTir
     One Hand Damage: 13 - 56
     Durability: 23 of 44
     Required Level: 25
     Required Strength: 103
     Required Dexterity: 79
     Fingerprint: 0x1d196251
     Item Level: 52
     Version: Expansion 1.10+
35% Enhanced Damage
     7% Life stolen per hit
     25% Chance of Crushing Blow
     +20 to Strength
     +10 to Vitality
     +2 to Mana after each Kill
2      Sockets (2 used)
     Socketed: Amn Rune
     Socketed: Tir Rune

Somehow, Diablo only attacked my merc and my Valkyrie if I switched to Javelin and Shield - as long as I had a bow equipped and kept shooting at him with Guided Arrow, he only went for me with his lightning hose. Has anyone else noticed this behaviour? He kept doing this even after my merc died (in one of Diablo's Firestorms), so the teleport bug can't be the reason for it. I actually only started using Guided Arrow in Act IV just for the Diablo fight while thinking on how to best tackle him - LF just isn't a good single target skill. But then I remembered good old Buriza-Zons back in 1.09 and started using GA and I guess it was the right choice (you can actually see that Diablo is facing me in the screenshot althugh my minions are hacking at him):
Screenshot039.jpg

Now on to Act V! LF will shine there, I guess :)

Pynache, level 67 LF/GA Zon, with her trusty Valkyrie and Barbarian merc, NM Harrogath next.


Additional footage: I'd take gold over gray any time...
Screenshot038.jpg

EDIT: Why are item readouts so funnily arranged when in code tags?
 
Last edited:
Diablo is known to have some rigid targeting priorities. I had the opposite experience switching to a bow and being ignored with a necromancer last year
https://www.purediablo.com/forums/threads/maltatais-archive-thread.137/page-2#post-3343
As I understand it D goes after melee weapon wielders first and foremost and as a secondary thing picks the one with the most damaging weapon, but I'm no expert on the mechanics behind it. It is an interesting solution to keeping your mercenary alive in any case, if you would try to actually remove the weapon before the fight to make yourself the only target.
 
I managed over the past week to eek out sometime to try to be at ease and was able to knock out Mephisto. I've been running a mid-ranged rabies build with wolves, and maybe switch fully once I hit 30 with bear and wolves. Not much to write up as this past week has been the worst of my life thus far.

Did find this little thing:

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and this (19%)


Screenshot067.jpg

Code:
     Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Last Waypoint          Points
     ----------------- -------------------- ------- ------ ---------------------- -------
     Babyhell          Frida                Ama     84     WSK 2 Hell             45 (Guardian)
     Vang              Bludgeon             Pal     76     Black Marsh H          31 (RIP)
SP   Jcakes            Rurisk               Pal     73     Rogue Encampment H     30
SP   Grisu             Pynache              Ama     64     NM Panda Fortress      27
SP   Pb_pal            Silika               Asa     57     NM Kurast Docks        24
SP   Vildecor          Daphydae             Ama     48     Rogue Encampment NM    18
SP   Jcakes            Nightshade           Asa     47     Rogue Encampment NM    18 (RIP)
SP   DariusTriplet     Vegas                Pal     41     Rogue Encampment NM    15
     Vang              Aergh                Nec     31     Rogue Encampment NM    15
     Vang              Shiv                 Asa     46     Rogue Camp NM          15 (RIP)
     QueenEm           Groot                Dru     45     Rogue Camp (NM)        15
     Vang              Shockingly           Sor     35     Highlands              13 (RIP)
     Swamigoon         Niminy               Bar     28     Arreat Plateau         13 (RIP)
     QueenEm           RandomQueen          Sorc    31     Pandemonium Fortress   10 (RIP)
     Vang              Avenged              Dru     29     Pand. Fortress          9
SP   Dazliare          IronChad             Bar     28     Kurast Docks            9
     Swamigoon         Witgat               Dru     22     Canyon o' Magi          4 (RIP)
SP   Babyhell          BrianTribute         Dru     25     Arcane Sanctuary        3
     Swamigoon         Cuckoo               Dru     17     Halls o' Dead 2         4 (RIP)
SP   CaseyJones        Turgruel             Pal     20     Act 2 Sewers            3
SP   b1ur              Lynn                 Ama     20     Lut Gholein             3
 
I've managed to rabidfy Diablo to death. Then pressed on to save Anya and am working towards a few levels before I rabidfy the Ancients followed by a serving of Baal.
Screenshot069.jpg

Could I get a roll on my NM skills please.

Forever skills:
Summon Dire Wolves
Summon Grizzly Bear
Shockwave
Lycanthropy (locked from normal)
 
I'm long overdue for an update, and I've spent some time working through Act 5, so here goes!

This act has been really interesting. First, a nice gold dagger dropped. Maybe I can use it one day...

Screenshot044.jpg

I also found an Eth rune on the way to Shenk's pack. This prompted some quick shopping around for a 2 socket large shield, and a beautiful shield upgrade in 'Rhyme'. The only real downside here is that my Crushflange mace just doesn't have much damage output on P8, so Azrael is left to do almost all of the work.

I maxed out Find Item too. I was hesitant to even use it much since mana on barbarians is annoying, but it's turned out fine. Once Insight is available it'll be even better, but for now if I don't find enough mana potions from horking, a quick town run is no big deal. I hork every kill now.

Which paid off in spades in the Crystalline Passage:

Screenshot045.jpg

The damage on this is bonkers:

Bonesnap
Maul
Two Hand Damage: 102 - 146
Durability: 59 of 60
Required Level: 24
Required Strength: 69
Fingerprint: 0x9390a85d
Item Level: 38
Version: Expansion 1.10+
241% Enhanced Damage
+200% Damage to Undead
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
Cold Resist +30%
Fire Resist +30%

I wouldn't be surprised if I use this the rest of the game (can I lock weapon choices in future difficulties? Don't remember). Socketed and upgraded, it will be even more amazing

Big bashy thing in hand, we rescued Anya and sought to avenge her by disposing of Nihlathak. What an annoying fight. He was constantly teleporting, summoning help, and slowing both Ironchad and Azrael. A slow weapon while being slowed with rather poor Attack Rating does not make for a fun fight. But we prevailed!

Once I make it to the Worldstone Keep I'll ask for NM rolls :)

Level 44!
 
Agreed! There's nothing quite like trampling over hell's minions as a couple bears.

Here's where Calf stands:
Screenshot071.jpg

Though I do admit I took Big D on only at /p3 😶

Okay, quite a lot to catch up on. Last we saw was the end of Act 1. Well, Act 2 started...slowly. Compared to Act I, in which I had only recently put on a pair of Light Plated Boots and, in doing so, felt somewhat powerful, Act II was not a walk in the park. Up until this point my stat points had been randomly and evenly assigned (41 energy 🤮), which meant I was not able to boost strength, one of the few ways to increase kick damage. Calf also was only kicking twice per Dtalon at the start of the Act. Given that Dtalon's DPS depends on quick kicking, all this meant that Calf felt under-powered again.

The sewers were a little painful. No life steal from skeles, and the fire archers were troublesome as always. But, getting down to Radament was fairly straightforward, and the same goes for the fight. I wonder if Diablo 2 was ever remastered that hardcoding a stronger leash to minions in such areas would be a good idea or not. I remember Radament being a harrowing experience when I was younger and dumber and did not think of simply drawing the skeletons outside of Rad's resurrecting range. Rada is really a pushover with that bit of foresight.

Screenshot026.jpg

Funny thing happened in Act II. In the Stony Tomb, Creeping Feature wasn't next to the sparkly chest. And then in the Halls of the Dead, The sparkly chest only had a few Unravelers nearby 🧐
I definitely played the Halls of the Dead a little too loosely. If this was NM Calf surely would have deeded. Part of that is related to having no crowd control skills and being impatient. It's terribly annoying killing skeletons at doorways while Unravelers resurrect them, and sometimes I decided to dodge into the room to finish things more quickly. Not the smartest strategy....but I survived.

Screenshot028.jpg


Oh, and one NDE that I got on film. Well, nearly. Ran through a doorway smack into a cold enchanted Bat. I don't remember getting down to super low health, but low enough to be disturbed. Also, I love throwing my bow mercenary into oncoming threats. It's payback for all the useless moments she spends dawdling instead of fighting.

Screenshot029.jpg


Once Calf got to level 22/23, it was time to begin gambling for circlet. And it really paid off! I don't think I had to gamble for more than 5 or so until I got this.

Screenshot030.jpg

With a flawed topaz breastplate, boots/gloves of luck (~20% each, if I recall), and some jewelry, Calf had around 140% mf at this point if I'm remembering correctly. Speaking of MF, I've decided to allow myself to hit Act bosses once for every time I log on for a long session. And to compensate, I've decided that I have to use up quest rewards before moving on to the next difficulty. Luckily, I've already found my likely end game weapon for Lazruk's Normal reward. Probably going to imbue a circlet for Charsi.

Screenshot052.jpg

Skipping over Maggot Lair (nothing of mention, really), and onto Claw Viper. By this point I had reached level 24, thank god. Mind Blast! Never have I been so thankful for some crowd control, it can get pretty hairy in Claw Viper even in normal. What made it slightly difficult, and definitely something to remember for NM and Hell, is that the knockback from Dtalon pushes the vipers far enough away that they can charge. Perhaps if I had more IAS and FRW I would be able to kick them successively, but I don't. And sometimes it ended up like a Fire Emblem battle where we took turns attacking eachother. Fangskin was fine. Mind Blast distracted them well enough.

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Oh, Arcane Sanctuary. A picture is worth a thousand words. I'm not doing full clears/single pass, mind you.

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Sometimes The Summoner on normal /p8 can be a little dangerous if you don't have good resistances. I did get very lucky with my randomized normal skills and have access to Fade. High resistances, along with Mind Blast distracting everyone on the little arena made for a quick kill. I do love how the Assassin earns her namesake on some runthroughs. It's a satisfying feeling to control combat and take out high priority targets while keeping others distracted.

Onto Duriel, and I wasn't terribly worried. Mainly because I didn't take him on /p8 :p Also with Fade and thawing potions I had 85% cold resist, so...no problems there. The fight was straightforwad, toe to toe battle. No running around, just holding down the Dtalon moues button. I did have to make a trip to town after running out of potions. My randomized belt is a Sash, and those 8 slots were already too few by Act II.

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Amp damage from the Mace dropped by Andariel was wonderful, it made the battle much more comfortable. Nothing of note from the drops :( The Blade Talons and one of the Broad Swords turned out to be failed Uniques 🤬

Screenshot043.jpg

And that was Act II! I'm enjoying Dtalon a lot. I think that almost any assassin build could work if you had enough patience since Mind Blast allows you take your time with positioning and the actual killing of the monsters. I'll probably write up Act III tomorrow.
 

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This looks interesting, I would like to enter, could someone roll me a random Amazon?

weapons: bow, class bow, class jav
 
Here ya are, @intersilva

Forever Skills
1-8 Strafe
1-2 Fire Arrow
3-4 Impale (I'm sorry)

Normal Skills
3-7 Plague Javelin
2-4 Slow Missiles
2-8 Evade
3-9 Lightning Strike
2-8>>2- Critical Strike

Armor
Medium Body Armor
Bone Helm
Spiked Shield
Heavy Gloves
Light Plated Boots
Plated Belt

Weapons
Long War Bow
Stag Bow
Maiden Javelin
Maiden Spear

Rerolls?
 
Last edited:
@Jocular thanks! I will reroll Impale (lol) and Bone Helm

also I think I'm missing a class-specific roll, it looks like others are 3 selected+random class specific. Weapon reroll pending that result.
 
@Jocular thanks! I will reroll Impale (lol) and Bone Helm

also I think I'm missing a class-specific roll, it looks like others are 3 selected+random class specific. Weapon reroll pending that result.

Ah, I thought you were forgoing the 4th optional weapon roll since you only specified 3 types.

Maiden Spear.

edit: Though I'm not sure if we're doing this right? I think you can pick your last weapon type....someone else please clarify. @Vang ?
 
Upon re-reading the initial post, it looks like you are right and I do get to pick all four types.

Edit: Either way, it really isn't in the spirit of randomness for me to pick a weapon category now that everything else has been rolled. Maiden Spear is fine.

Rerolls: Impale, Bone Helm, Maiden Spear

Forever skill: Plague Javelin
 
Last edited:
^^Agreed about that weapon selection...at least you have fire arrow!

Could someone please roll for me a new set of skills for NM? Thanks!


FOREVER SKILLS
Shock Web
Venom
Dragon Talon
Mind Blast

NORMAL SKILLS
Claws of Thunder
Fade
Fire Blast
Death Sentry
 
^^Agreed about that weapon selection...at least you have fire arrow!

Could someone please roll for me a new set of skills for NM? Thanks!


FOREVER SKILLS
Shock Web
Venom
Dragon Talon
Mind Blast

NORMAL SKILLS
Claws of Thunder
Fade
Fire Blast
Death Sentry

NM skills
Wake of Fire
Fade
Psychic Hammer
Shadow Master
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jocular
Well Baal is no more! My Bear really started to tank a ton for me. Decided to do some Baal runs last night and this beauty dropped for my Mercenary!

Screenshot075.jpg

Additional images
Screenshot072.jpg
Screenshot071.jpg

Now comes the hard part. Do I use a repeating xbow and the upgrades or stick with my 2 handed axes. The faster attack rate is nice, but how much do I need it with Maul, Shockwave, and Bear is my only concerns.



Code:
     Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Last Waypoint          Points
     ----------------- -------------------- ------- ------ ---------------------- -------
     Babyhell          Frida                Ama     84     WSK 2 Hell             45 (Guardian)
     Vang              Bludgeon             Pal     76     Black Marsh H          31 (RIP)
SP   Jcakes            Rurisk               Pal     73     Rogue Encampment H     30
SP   Grisu             Pynache              Ama     64     NM Panda Fortress      27
SP   Pb_pal            Silika               Asa     57     NM Kurast Docks        24
SP   Vildecor          Daphydae             Ama     48     Rogue Encampment NM    18
SP   Jcakes            Nightshade           Asa     47     Rogue Encampment NM    18 (RIP)
SP   DariusTriplet     Vegas                Pal     41     Rogue Encampment NM    15
     Vang              Aergh                Nec     31     Rogue Encampment NM    15
     Vang              Shiv                 Asa     46     Rogue Camp NM          15 (RIP)
     QueenEm           Groot                Dru     45     Rogue Camp (NM)        15
     Vang              Avenged              Dru     50     Rogue Camp NM          15     
     Vang              Shockingly           Sor     35     Highlands              13 (RIP)
     Swamigoon         Niminy               Bar     28     Arreat Plateau         13 (RIP)
     QueenEm           RandomQueen          Sorc    31     Pandemonium Fortress   10 (RIP)
SP   Dazliare          IronChad             Bar     28     Kurast Docks            9
     Swamigoon         Witgat               Dru     22     Canyon o' Magi          4 (RIP)
SP   Babyhell          BrianTribute         Dru     25     Arcane Sanctuary        3
     Swamigoon         Cuckoo               Dru     17     Halls o' Dead 2         4 (RIP)
SP   CaseyJones        Turgruel             Pal     20     Act 2 Sewers            3
SP   b1ur              Lynn                 Ama     20     Lut Gholein             3
[/QUOTE]
 
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