Random Tournament 2021 D2R edition!

[Vang]

I could level up a bit more first, technically I haven't left Normal yet (assuming that Nightmare starts when I actually start my first Nightmare session and not when I enter the red portal). Ok, maybe going into a 1 pt Bear + Maul is better for some situations, but I guess the kill speed will usually be lower than synergized Rabies. The Cyclone Armor does look nice. Thanks for the tip!

Is it allowed to pick up a second set of skills a bit into NM if things are not going well, or they have to be picked before starting the difficulty

NM doesn't start till you enter NM. Your free to run Baal until 56+ if you actually desire. I think someone here did that last year. I usually stop about 49/50 as I don't enjoy it and when you hit that wall in NM because you faceroll most of it at that level until Act 3.

 

[Miron]

@Quackerz Thanks for the progress post. It made me realize I won't get through NM with just Rabies+PoisonCreeper+OakSage combo and a merc. I'll need to steal something from my planned Hell setup before I start Nightmare. It's hard to break something out though. Does anyone have any tips that will make it more NM viable without killing my chances in Hell?

-- Forever --
65 -> 16,22,23 -> Rabies, Poison Creeper, Oak Sage

-- NM/Hell --
1 -> 5,15,16 -> Cyclone Armor, Maul, Rabies
32 -> 18,19,30 -> Hunger, Shockwave, Summon Grizzly
58 -> 2,5,13 -> Molten Boulder, Cyclone Armor, Werebear
93 -> 7,12,28 -> Volcano, Lycnathropy, Solar Creeper

Get Dol rune and use act1 merc.....

 

[corale]

I did a bit of testing and it seems to do what it says on the tin. Either they fixed it or it didn't affect singleplayer. It's off by a little bit but it's expected since I measured it by manually starting the stopwatch on my phone whilst nervously running around WSK without my merc hehe. I took all the numbers from the in game UI, except enemy stats. I have lvl 20 Rabies and level 19 Poison Creeper (turns out I hadn't maxed it yet).

 

[Miron]

Belketh, the random necromancer, reached act 2.

The beginning was tedious, hitting stuff with 2-4 damage wand isn't the most efficient way to kill quickly. Finished the first area (without the cave) and reached lvl 5.5, pushed on to the second area to reach lvl 6 before going back to the moor. The game became a bit easier with a meat clay shield but the progress was sloooow and lvl 9 never seemed so far away. Luckily for me the game decided to drop a chip emerald so after a short shopping spree managed to find a wand with open socket - I had a way to speed up killing!

Reached Burial Grounds when I'm still lvl 8 hesitated for a moment but decided to enter anyway. The fight was frustrating with all the running and poison/KB/CtC flee arrows which interrupted the golem focus on Blood Raven but in the end managed to kill her. Hired a fire arrow merc and gave her a bow with sapphire and 2 emeralds in order to deal with all the Fallen resurrections.

Rest of the act was quite boring, the merc and the golem took care of everything without any danger at all. Lowered P setting to P3 for Andy but wasn't really needed. With ~950 HP the golem tanked her just fine.

Belketh, Level 20, Act 2

 

[Babyhell]

NM doesn't start till you enter NM. Your free to run Baal until 56+ if you actually desire. I think someone here did that last year. I usually stop about 49/50 as I don't enjoy it and when you hit that wall in NM because you faceroll most of it at that level until Act 3.

I think that was 55...

 

[corale]

Got a bit too sloppy and confident leveling up for NM. Stunlocked by these two pals. I usually catchup in act 1 NM instead when I'm behind the level curve and these guys are one of the reasons.

Thanks for the tips everyone, I learned a bunch about druids!

I'd be happy to start another, can someone roll me a barbarian?

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Skills      Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------      --------               ----
   Yes Babyhell          BleedRunner          Pal     77.7   78+86+71    Kurast docks H          36
SP Yes Grisu             Randomnipotent       Nec     60     33          NM Kurast               24
SP Yes Quackerz          Nero                 Dru     57     52+14+15    NM Kurast               24
SP Yes aitrus            RandomDeadNecro      Nec     35     21          NM Rogue Camp           18
   Yes Vildecor          Fernando             Pal     25     96          Pandemonium Fortress    9
   Yes maxicek           Forley               Bar     29     42+18       Pandemonium Fortress    9
SP Yes thefranklin       RandomWayToDie       Ass     33     40          City of the Damned      9
   Yes Vang              TrashReturned        Bar     16     84          Sewers                  3
SP Yes Dazliare          Mulgram              Bar     20     56          Tombs                   3
SP Yes D4di56lu3         Deva                 Ass     ?      19          Lut Gholein             3
SP Yes jstani01          mystery              Bar     6      93          Cold Plains             0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your SOUL was swallowed by the resurrection (aka Deeds)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SP Yes Jcakes            SerafinaPekkala      Ama     60     5 + 50      Deeds                   24
   Yes Vang              Multiple             Multi   58     Many        Deeds                   21  
   Yes corale            Meoh                 Dru     43     65          Deeds                   15
   Yes Dazliare          Priscilla            Sor     25     25+72       Deeds                   9
   Yes Miron             Hartwig              Bar     29     8+75        Deeds                   6
   Yes coju              RandyTom             Bar     25      5          Deeds                   3
   Yes Sid               Brisket              Dru     8      07+52       Deeds
   Yes Jamesixgun        Devi                 Sor     7      66+78       Deeds 
   Yes Sid               Bortleby             Pal     23     40          Deeds

 

[aitrus]

Short Act 1 NM report - while I was eager to have more skills at my disposal I must admit both Fire Golem and Skeleton Mages are a disappointment so far No damage to speak of, but hey, at least my army is now 17 NPCs strong.
Drop game is still subpar, looking for a 3-socketed (or white) Gothic Shield with no luck, haven't seen a single Gargoyle Head (let alone a useful one) and all the set/unique drops are unusable. To paint the picture, here's how Andariel rewarded me

Spoiler: Andariel drops

On the flip side, I found it funny how Blood Raven was stopped in her manic running around by this wondrous army:

Spoiler: Pinned

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Skills      Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------      --------               ----
   Yes Babyhell          BleedRunner          Pal     77.7   78+86+71    Kurast docks H          36
SP Yes Grisu             Randomnipotent       Nec     60     33          NM Kurast               24
SP Yes Quackerz          Nero                 Dru     57     52+14+15    NM Kurast               24
SP Yes aitrus            RandomDeadNecro      Nec     42     21+75       NM Lut Gholein          21
   Yes Vildecor          Fernando             Pal     25     96          Pandemonium Fortress    9
   Yes maxicek           Forley               Bar     29     42+18       Pandemonium Fortress    9
SP Yes thefranklin       RandomWayToDie       Ass     33     40          City of the Damned      9
   Yes Vang              TrashReturned        Bar     16     84          Sewers                  3
SP Yes Dazliare          Mulgram              Bar     20     56          Tombs                   3
SP Yes D4di56lu3         Deva                 Ass     ?      19          Lut Gholein             3
SP Yes jstani01          mystery              Bar     6      93          Cold Plains             0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your SOUL was swallowed by the resurrection (aka Deeds)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SP Yes Jcakes            SerafinaPekkala      Ama     60     5 + 50      Deeds                   24
   Yes Vang              Multiple             Multi   58     Many        Deeds                   21  
   Yes corale            Meoh                 Dru     43     65          Deeds                   15
   Yes Dazliare          Priscilla            Sor     25     25+72       Deeds                   9
   Yes Miron             Hartwig              Bar     29     8+75        Deeds                   6
   Yes coju              RandyTom             Bar     25      5          Deeds                   3
   Yes Sid               Brisket              Dru     8      07+52       Deeds
   Yes Jamesixgun        Devi                 Sor     7      66+78       Deeds 
   Yes Sid               Bortleby             Pal     23     40          Deeds

 

[Quackerz]

@corale Sorry about your Druid. If it's any consolation, Rabies was going to be a struggle in late NM. I'm going to post an update soon but I had to fully rely on my merc and bear to get me through.


Corale's Barbarian

Skill Sets:
Set 7 - 4, 16, 25 - Shout, Spear Mastery, Double Throw
Set 12 - 5, 17, 30 - Find Item, Increased Stamina, Berserk
Set 15 - 5, 12, 16 - Find Item, Axe Mastery, Spear Mastery
Set 18 - 10, 16, 21 - Battle Command, Spear Mastery, Bash
Set 28 - 7, 26, 27 - Battle Orders, Leap Attack, Concentrate
Set 85 - 25, 26, 29 - Double Throw, Leap Attack, Whirlwind

Armor:
Full Helm
Armor 2
Bone Shield -> Gothic Shield
Light Gauntlets
Boots
Light Belt
Horned Helm

Weapons:
Mace -> Long Sword
Double Axe
Scythe

 

[thefranklin]

I'm not going to rule on this in one way or the other. Part of me says, yeah it is against the spirit of the tournament, and part of me sees the randomness of it and how ineffective and unreliable it will be overall and you have to gimp yourself for the most part hoping the warrior uses it when you need. All the while making L/R MB not available for your own use (This is where I would see multiple mistakes happening and using skills your not supposed to use in the heat of battle)

The skills I see a player could use effectively:

BoS/Fade/Venom
Death Sentry (This one may give you a small edge in Hell, but will be hit or miss I imagine)
Mind Blast

I have shadow warrior for hell (if I make it). I would have no problem leaving an unused skill on one of my clickers to get the shadow to cast it. As long as I don't use it, it is within the rules imo.

With that said, Death Sentry, Mind Blast, Venom are at the bottom of the skill tree and you won't have a point in these unless you can use the skill yourself. The only ones that might be helpful would be CoS (would need Mind Blast as a usable skill) and maybe Blades of Ice (Phoenix Strike). I bet you would just stand around waiting for some crowd control from blades of ice where you could have already done it with PS if you needed too.

 

[corale]

@corale Sorry about your Druid. If it's any consolation, Rabies was going to be a struggle in late NM. I'm going to post an update soon but I had to fully rely on my merc and bear to get me through.


Corale's Barbarian

Skill Sets:
Set 7 - 4, 16, 25 - Shout, Spear Mastery, Double Throw
Set 12 - 5, 17, 30 - Find Item, Increased Stamina, Berserk
Set 15 - 5, 12, 16 - Find Item, Axe Mastery, Spear Mastery
Set 28 - 7, 26, 27 - Battle Orders, Leap Attack, Concentrate
Set 85 - 25, 26, 29 - Double Throw, Leap Attack, Whirlwind

Armor:
Full Helm
Armor 2
Bone Shield
Light Gauntlets
Boots
Light Belt
Horned Helm

Weapons:
Mace
Double Axe
Scythe

Rerolls?

Thanks @Quackerz. This barb looks cool, happy that masteries and weapon have at least one match. Rerolls:

Set 7
Bone Shield
Mace

 

[D4di56lu3]

I have shadow warrior for hell (if I make it). I would have no problem leaving an unused skill on one of my clickers to get the shadow to cast it. As long as I don't use it, it is within the rules imo.

With that said, Death Sentry, Mind Blast, Venom are at the bottom of the skill tree and you won't have a point in these unless you can use the skill yourself. The only ones that might be helpful would be CoS (would need Mind Blast as a usable skill) and maybe Blades of Ice (Phoenix Strike). I bet you would just stand around waiting for some crowd control from blades of ice where you could have already done it with PS if you needed too.

Hmm, by my interpretation having a point in a non-set, non-prereq. skill world be against the rules even if unused by you (could be seen as synergy for the SW). So you should have the wanted non-set skills as staffmods on claws on the switch, for the SW to access them “by the rules”.
Sinced nothing has been hard ruled, I hope you, my fellow assassin, can avoid a deeds by hotkey confusion

 

[Babyhell]

BleedCharger's Hell adventures - part 5a - Insight craft

Only a small part of an update, but even if on the rune side that's not a big success for now, at least my map has a Thresher rack close to the camps.

Spoiler: Various ethereal drops

And in the end the first craft on a 4os Ethereal had been the good one for Insight!

I had already prepared a 4os non-eth for a craft just in case

See you on next update!

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Skills      Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------      --------               ----
   Yes Babyhell          BleedRunner          Pal     78.3   78+86+71    River of Flame H        39
SP Yes Grisu             Randomnipotent       Nec     60     33          NM Kurast               24
SP Yes Quackerz          Nero                 Dru     57     52+14+15    NM Kurast               24
SP Yes aitrus            RandomDeadNecro      Nec     42     21+75       NM Lut Gholein          21
   Yes Vildecor          Fernando             Pal     25     96          Pandemonium Fortress    9
   Yes maxicek           Forley               Bar     29     42+18       Pandemonium Fortress    9
SP Yes thefranklin       RandomWayToDie       Ass     33     40          City of the Damned      9
   Yes Vang              TrashReturned        Bar     16     84          Sewers                  3
SP Yes Dazliare          Mulgram              Bar     20     56          Tombs                   3
SP Yes D4di56lu3         Deva                 Ass     ?      19          Lut Gholein             3
SP Yes jstani01          mystery              Bar     6      93          Cold Plains             0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your SOUL was swallowed by the resurrection (aka Deeds)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SP Yes Jcakes            SerafinaPekkala      Ama     60     5 + 50      Deeds                   24
   Yes Vang              Multiple             Multi   58     Many        Deeds                   21
   Yes corale            Meoh                 Dru     43     65          Deeds                   15
   Yes Dazliare          Priscilla            Sor     25     25+72       Deeds                   9
   Yes Miron             Hartwig              Bar     29     8+75        Deeds                   6
   Yes coju              RandyTom             Bar     25      5          Deeds                   3
   Yes Sid               Brisket              Dru     8      07+52       Deeds
   Yes Jamesixgun        Devi                 Sor     7      66+78       Deeds
   Yes Sid               Bortleby             Pal     23     40          Deeds

 

[Quackerz]

Thanks @Quackerz. This barb looks cool, happy that masteries and weapon have at least one match. Rerolls:

Set 7
Bone Shield
Mace

Set 7 -> Set 18 - 10, 16, 21 - Battle Command, Spear Mastery, Bash
Bone Shield -> Gothic Shield
Mace - Long Sword

 

[thefranklin]

Hmm, by my interpretation having a point in a non-set, non-prereq. skill world be against the rules even if unused by you (could be seen as synergy for the SW). So you should have the wanted non-set skills as staffmods on claws on the switch, for the SW to access them “by the rules”.
Sinced nothing has been hard ruled, I hope you, my fellow assassin, can avoid a deeds by hotkey confusion

Good point, I did not think of staffmods. Maybe I will find a +Mind Blast claws and just wear them for some quick giggles. I dont think I have seriously used the warrior in the past though, I think it is going to be pretty weak. I remember trying the traps synergy thing but not getting good results from it.

 

[corale]

Current plan

Skill Sets:
Set 15 - 5, 12, 16 - Find Item, Axe Mastery, Spear Mastery --- Forever
Set 18 - 10, 16, 21 - Battle Command, Spear Mastery, Bash --- Normal
Set 85 - 25, 26, 29 - Double Throw, Leap Attack, Whirlwind --- Nightmare
Set 12 - 5, 17, 30 - Find Item, Increased Stamina, Berserk --- Hell
Set 28 - 7, 26, 27 - Battle Orders, Leap Attack, Concentrate --- Hell

So basically dual wielding Axe whirlwinder in Nightmare and a pretty nicely synergized Concentrate for Hell, with support from Berserk when needed. Leap Attack for both NM and hell. Happy to take feedback if someone sees a good pattern that I missed.

 

[Jcakes]

I am going to need another role - killed the Necromancer in the Jail to the stupid pitspawn fouldog.

Random character - no Necro, no Amazon. thanks

 

[Quackerz]

Nero has continued to make progress and has somehow managed to hobble his way though Nightmare. Rabies hit and runs while fully relying on his trusty grizzly and merc were the name of the game. Thanks to Lycanthropy and maxed resists, he was never in too much danger as long as he didn't stand still. Killing speed was slow as Rabies really falls off without plus to skill items, of which Nero has almost none.

Spoiler: Killing some bros

Nero's drops have continued to be atrocious. He hasn't been able to get off of p1 and his MF is negligible.

At least there is a new title!



Nero jumped into Hell, and apparently entered Waterworld.



Nero bid farewell to Rabies and returned to his elemental roots, dropping 20 points into Fissure, Volcano and Grizzly Bear, with the rest in Molten Boulder. Act 1 was a slog but Nero continued to take a methodical approach, killing every foe he came upon. In order to feed his gambling addiction, he ran almost every item back to Charsi. Unforunately, as these things often go, he is now fully broke with nothing to show for it.

Things started to get difficult in the Catacombs and Nero had to run past his foes for the first time. Fire Immune Ghouls took forever to kill, and boss packs were two shotting his merc and bear. Somehow, he was able to push on and defeat Andariel with his tried-and-true strategy of spamming Fissure while running in circles.

Spoiler: Bye bye Andy

Nero is once again chilling in Lut Gholein. Scratching his head as to how he'll deal with all the delightful Fire Immunes that lay ahead.

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Skills      Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------      --------               ----
   Yes Babyhell          BleedRunner          Pal     78.3   78+86+71    River of Flame H        39
SP Yes Quackerz          Nero                 Dru     73     52+26+42    Lut Gholein H           39
SP Yes Grisu             Randomnipotent       Nec     60     33          NM Kurast               24
SP Yes aitrus            RandomDeadNecro      Nec     42     21+75       NM Lut Gholein          21
   Yes Vildecor          Fernando             Pal     25     96          Pandemonium Fortress    9
   Yes maxicek           Forley               Bar     29     42+18       Pandemonium Fortress    9
SP Yes thefranklin       RandomWayToDie       Ass     33     40          City of the Damned      9
   Yes Vang              TrashReturned        Bar     16     84          Sewers                  3
SP Yes Dazliare          Mulgram              Bar     20     56          Tombs                   3
SP Yes D4di56lu3         Deva                 Ass     ?      19          Lut Gholein             3
SP Yes jstani01          mystery              Bar     6      93          Cold Plains             0

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Your SOUL was swallowed by the resurrection (aka Deeds)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SP Yes Jcakes            SerafinaPekkala      Ama     60     5 + 50      Deeds                   24
   Yes Vang              Multiple             Multi   58     Many        Deeds                   21
   Yes corale            Meoh                 Dru     43     65          Deeds                   15
   Yes Dazliare          Priscilla            Sor     25     25+72       Deeds                   9
   Yes Miron             Hartwig              Bar     29     8+75        Deeds                   6
   Yes coju              RandyTom             Bar     25      5          Deeds                   3
   Yes Sid               Brisket              Dru     8      07+52       Deeds
   Yes Jamesixgun        Devi                 Sor     7      66+78       Deeds
   Yes Sid               Bortleby             Pal     23     40          Deeds

Honestly, I'm not sure how much further Nero is going to be able to go unless I give up Single Pass and try to MF a bit. Even then, I'd need to get pretty lucky on drops. Progress is going to be really slow as he is super squishy and even a stray Fallen is a threat. It's been a great experience getting back into HC though and I've definitely learned a lot for any future endeavours. Very pleased to have made it this far.

 

[Vang]

I am going to need another role - killed the Necromancer in the Jail to the stupid pitspawn fouldog.

Random character - no Necro, no Amazon. thanks

(2) Assassin

72, 87, 51, 90, 44

Set 44: Dragon Talon, Venom, Wake of Fire
Set 51: Dragon Tail, Fade, Blade Fury
Set 72: Claw Mastery, Psychic Hammer, Wake of Fire
Set 87: Blades of Ice, Weapon Block, Fire Blast
Set 90: Cobra Strike, Dragon Flight, Claw Mastery
Set 29: Fist of Fire,Cobra Stike, Blades of Ice

Armor (1)
Tower Shield
Bone Helm
Heavy Gloves
Belt
Chain Boots>Boots

Katar>Wrist Blade
Hatchet Hands
Blade Talons
Crystal Sword

 

[Jcakes]

(2) Assassin

72, 87, 51, 90, 44

Set 44: Dragon Talon, Venom, Wake of Fire
Set 51: Dragon Tail, Fade, Blade Fury
Set 72: Claw Mastery, Psychic Hammer, Wake of Fire
Set 87: Blades of Ice, Weapon Block, Fire Blast
Set 90: Cobra Strike, Dragon Flight, Claw Mastery

Armor (1)
Tower Shield
Bone Helm
Heavy Gloves
Belt
Chain Boots

Katar
Hatchet Hands
Blade Talons
Crystal Sword

re-roll set 72, Katar and Chain Boots

 

[Babyhell]

Not sure that it will work, but...I'm officially complaining about my rune luck.

And rune masters don't count -_- (to be revealed...somehow nice items with no use in this tournament context start to stack, but clearly there's a void on Mal+ runes oO)