Thanks to
@Vang for the clarification re: buggy Radament! I don't need the skill point quite yet, so I'll go back and /p1 my way through later on.
After being mystified by the Mystery of the Missing Mummy, Vegas trekked out to the Lut Gholein deserts. I ditch my Act 1 mercenary for an Act 2, and added an additional tournament rule for myself: mercenary weapons, when not set by the tournament rules, must also be randomized. Since Act 3 and 5 mercenaries can use Crystal Swords, I rolled for bows and spears/poles/javs...
Act 1: Long Bow
Act 2: Spear
Could be worse, I suppose - Cedar and Shadow Bows ain't bad, and War Spears can drop in Act 4 Normal (I think?). I gambled a junky blue Spear for my mercenary and started questing.
As usual for casters, this was where Vegas went from a whack-monsters-with-a-sword to sling-hammers-and-lay-waste character. I usually don't bother fighting everything in my path in Act 2, since many of the monsters aren't worth the trouble (Leapers, Worms); thankfully, Hammers are really quite excellent in the open spaces of the desert. Mana is a real problem - Vegas only has ~50 - so I anticipate drinking lots of potions on my way through Normal. I've been cubing up gems in the hope of getting a Flawless/Perfect Sapphire by the end of Normal, but it's a race between making that and a "Lore" Bone Helm first.
A blue Rondache with +resist automods dropped, and I was able to gamble Vegas' last missing piece of gear at clvl 23:
Looking good! ...except for the Sturdy Bone Helm, which is too damn expensive to re-gamble
After playing 23 levels without a belt, I really appreciated gaining 12 potion slots - I had been carrying them around in inventory, which was a real drag.
Maggots were horrible as always for a Hammerdin; I spent a lot of time futilely waving my sword as my mercenary got stuck on corners. I zipped through the rest of the act as fast as possible, since the Arcane Sanctuary tends to be kind to Hammerdins. A Ghost there was kind enough to provide an Eth rune, which, combined with my Countess Tal, greatly improved Vegas' armor:
Summoner dropped Gorefoot, which would be cool, but Vegas never learned how to tie his shoes.
I got into the habit of taking pre-Duriel screenshots from my time playing Classic, so here's Vegas right before popping into the Chamber:
I really like the all-silver look
I fought Duriel on /p8 and expected the worst, but he's really much gentler than in pre-1.13. Even with Vegas' low blockrate, his high HP + a few Thawing Potions allowed me to just tank the hits and sling Hammers until he fell. I did have to run back to town to restock on potions, but otherwise it was unremarkable (in both fight and drops).
Code:
Forum Name Character Name Class Level Last Waypoint Points
----------------- -------------------- ------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Vang Bludgeon Pal 54 Kurast Docks NM 21
Vang Shockingly Sor 35 Highlands 13
SP DariusTriplet Vegas Pal 24 Kurast Docks 6
SP CaseyJones Turgruel Pal 20 Act 2 Sewers 3
SP b1ur Lynn Ama 20 Lut Gholein 3
SP Vildecor Daphydae Ama 20 Lut Gholein 3
SP Pb_pal Silika Asa 18 Lut Gholein 3
SP Grisu Pynache Ama 15 Black Marsh 0
Swamigoon Witgat Dru 10 Jail 1 1
Swamigoon Cuckoo Dru 17 Halls o' Dead 2 3
QueenEm RandomQueen Sorc 20 Lut Gholein 3