Random Tournament 2022!

Grisu · Oct 10, 2022

Well, well, Nightmare started of good enough, I suppose. My lowish resistances were still enough to keep me safe and see me through Act I, which I completed doing single pass full clears on p8.

An early Ironstone drop is usable, but not useful, I suppose

I had some mid-level rune drops (another Shael after I put the first one in a Rhyme Bone Shield, Hel, 2x Io etc.) and some exceptional uniques, which aren't usable though (Venom Grip, Skin of the Vipermagi (!!!)

After realizing, that none of my rolled head gear can have 3 sockets, I gambled a nice rare Skull Cap with 2 os and inserted my first Perfect Topazes into it:

I had an interesting fight against Pitspawn, because he was not inside the walled room, but inside the one with the bars. Being a melee character, I had to somehow lure him and his pack out while they could shoot at me and my merc. I somehow managed to do that and with only one merc revive I was able to beat him without endangering myself too much.

Another dangerous fight was against a Conviction Vampire boss mob. I was glad for the freezing ability of a fully charged Phoenix Strike, because then I could split up the group and take out the boss as one of the first ones. I had to be careful not to get hit by one of their blasts and I think this was the first time I used Full Rejuvs.

Andariel herself wasn't too bad and went down quickly, but her drop was really crappy - so crappy that I even forgot to take a screenshot...

Right now I am debating if I should continue to use my shabby rare Blade Talons (for the Attack Speed and AR, see below), or if I should make Pattern in my 3 os Quhab or Blade Talons - probabyl in the latter, because of the base weapon speed). We will see

Any advice on that? I am also debating if I should switch to a HF merc or simply continue with my BA merc for the additional AR? Any advice is welcome!

Imp Thirst
Blade Talons
One Hand Damage: 12 - 17
Durability: 69 of 69
Required Level: 20
Required Strength: 50
Required Dexterity: 50
Fingerprint: 0x5dcdcddc
Item Level: 40
Version: Resurrected
+10% Increased Attack Speed
23% Enhanced Damage
+172 to Attack Rating
+1 to Mana after each Kill

Destroyer Medea, level 53 Phoenix Striker, NM Lut Gholein next

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     40      64       NM Black Marsh           5
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     25     146       Frigid Highlands         4
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     20+?   104       Palace Level 1           1
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel          Sor     18     153      Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
SP Yes Norcim            ???                  Sor      1      59       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4

little birdy · Oct 11, 2022

Slow and steady, we're making some progress!

artemia just hit the WSK waypoint and will try her luck against Baal tomorrow. Just hit level 32. I made sure to get to level 30 prior to tackling the Ancients. Adding in a Valkyrie at level 30 was a bit of a game-changer. She soaks up a lot of the monsters' attention while me and my merc (A1 Fire Rogue) let the arrows fly. Getting a couple points into Freezing Arrow at level 30 was also nice, though mana is a serious issue. I can't wait to find a base for 'Insight'.

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     40      64       NM Black Marsh           5
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     32     146       Worldstone Keep L. 2     4
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     20+?   104       Palace Level 1           1
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     18     153       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
SP Yes Norcim            ???                  Sor      1      59       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4

little birdy · Oct 11, 2022

Awww yeah!

Baal is toast

The Skystrike unique Edge Bow is a very nice upgrade for my Fire Arrow Rogue merc. I also got lucky and found Chance Guards in a chest part-way through Act V. I think it was on the Frozen Tundra...

After getting the better of Baal, I did one run through normal Cows. Freezing Arrow was shattering those poor Cows like nothing on p1. And Gwinni's Skystrike was proc'ing Meteor at a pretty good clip too even though the chance is rather low. We are fire and ice, with my Freezing Arrows and Cold Arrows, and her Explosive Arrows and Fire Arrows, flying all over the place. And now add in the occasional Meteor! It's great. Valkyrie does her job by standing around, taking the heat, and not dying.

artemia was a slow starter but I feel like I'm really rolling now. Mana is still an issue, so I really need to get myself an 'Insight' bow early on in NM. I will also need to spend some time with the NM Countess, as I don't even have a Sol yet. I'll want two for 'Insight' and 'Lore'

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     40      64       NM Black Marsh           5
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     33     146       Rogue Encampment NM      5
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     20+?   104       Palace Level 1           1
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     18     153       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
SP Yes Norcim            ???                  Sor      1      59       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4

Norcim · Oct 12, 2022

Sorrow the future Blizzard sorc sold her starting staff and then went out into the moor with firsts swinging! Once we hit level 2 and put a point into Ice Bolt things became easier, especially when a white javelin dropped from almost the first monster. From there it was simple, ice bolt to slow things down and then throw javelins until they die. Having javelins and scepters makes the early game so much easier, especially with the major spells I want to use not coming into play until later. In a nice twist of RNG the first three rare items that dropped were an eagle orb (sold immediately), a scepter, and a short sword. Sorrow used the scepter until the short sword dropped. I had found a gem shrine almost right away in the Blood Moor but had to wait until the Crypt to find the first chipped topaz, which promptly got upgraded. Sorrow can't use topazes for a while, so we'll save up and see what we end up with in Act 2.

I hired Amplisa the Fire Rouge as soon as we hit level 8 in the Cold Plains, which made a huge difference in kill speed. I went fire so that by the end of the act she can be shooting Enchanted explosive arrows. We found our second gem shrine in the Stony Field, so we're up to a regular topaz. We picked up an excellent starter Eagle Orb in the Underground Passage: 3 Ice Bolt/2 Warmth. That replaced the white javelins and Sorrow can now maintain a pretty decent stream of ice bolts before running out of mana.

Countess dropped an Eth. Was hoping for an early Tal so Stealth would be an option to help counteract the fact that Scale Armor and Splint Mail are heavier armors. We finally gambled some Light Plated Boots and Masks at level 19 when we hit the Inner Cloister WP, so we now have a full contingent of equipment. MF is pretty poor since we can't socket topazes into anything, but hopefully that will pick up soon.

The rest of the act and Andy were all smooth sailing. Progress on P8 definitely slowed quite a bit by the end of the act; Ice Bolt even at high skill levels just doesn't do that much damage. At least the mana cost doesn't increase on that one... Andy dropped a bunch of rares that were all sold except for the ring, which had a bit of MF on it and replaced a bad magic ring. I did appreciate the Topaz though!

As soon as we hit Act 2 we hired Ilzan the Prayer merc and gave him a spetum. Combined with a level 1 Enchant he represents a much needed increase in kill speed from the Rouge. Slow and steady progress through Act 2, with Ilzan getting most of the kills. As soon as we got the cube I cubed up some flawed topazes and dropped 2 each into a Splint Mail for Sorrow and a Scale Mail for Ilzan. Also bought some nice MF/LR heavy gloves from Fara. MF is up to 75/100 on merc kills at this point.

I had only found 4 chipped diamonds by this point so I started rolling Savage polearms and got 4 War Scythes in a row..... Decent damage but low level mercs aren't even close on the dex requirement. I finally picked up another diamond in the Claw Viper Temple and rolled a simple savage polearm, which was a really nice boost for Ilzan.

Once we hit level 24 we opened up Blizzard, which just dominates at this stage of the game with all the synergy points in Ice Bolt. I use it sparingly so Ilzan can get most of the kills, but it really helped in rooms with Unravelers. Also, in the Claw Viper we found my favorite Fangskin spawn!

I didn't think the lack of teleport would bother me all that much, but boy was I wrong. Ilzan was sooooo close to getting himself fired in the Maggot Lair and the Arcane Sanctuary because he would just get stuck everywhere... Not being able to make him go where I want is an unusual experience with a sorc.

I think Unravelers are my least favorite enemy in the game, so naturally we rolled them in every single tomb... Ultimately we prevailed without any issues, though I did have a scare in a room with champion Unravelers when I caught a couple of bolts at the same time. Normally not a big deal but Sorrow has a smaller life pool than I'm used to so it definitely hurt. Duriel went down easy and dropped things to be sold.

In Act 3 we shopped a Tower Shield of Deflecting since it was available when we first got into town. Had to pump Str to be able to use it, but I'll likely roll up a Rhyme in one once we can so not a waste. The plan will likely be to try to shop a War Staff throughout the act that has any beneficial plus skills. We found our first useable S/U in the Spider Forest with a set of Bloodfist gloves. I was pretty sure I'd end up with a pair of these once I saw the armor rolls for Sorrow, so nice to get it out of the way early. It will stay stashed until the MF gear goes away or we find something better.

I've been checking Ormus each time I return to town and finally picked up a Mechanics mask, so we now have some MF from the helm slot. We're up to 113/139 now. I've had really bad luck with rings so far, but Ormus actually gave me a pretty nice rare resists ring for the Gidbin. Smooth sailing through the rest of Act 3, with Meph somehow dropping even worse than Duriel...

We picked up a Hsarus Belt in the Outer Plains. First useable set item, but it's stashed for now in favor of a simple blue belt with 20FR. The Izual fight took forever per usual; I think I drank 20 greater/super mana pots before he finally went down. We got a Thul from the Hellforge. I'd been checking Ormus and Jamella every time I went to town for War Staffs, and it finally paid off. We got a +1 Enchant and +1 Meteor with 67 mana, which was a really nice boost. This is now Sorrow's main weapon simply for the +mana. I'd been putting some points in Dex and was hovering just over 40% CTB with the Tower Shield, but I may hold off on that for a while now.

I tried to keep Ilzan alive for the Diablo fight but after he dropped immediately 2 times in a row I just left him dead and Sorrow battled alone. It really wasn't a problem, just cast Blizzard from far away and move when he cast spells back. Took quite a few pots but was never scary. He didn't drop anything we could use:

We found our first 2 socket Tower Shield in the Frigid Highlands, so we'll be rocking a Rhyme shield once the first Shael drops. We also completed our first normal set, Arctic, when the light belt dropped. At one point we were rocking through the Bloody Foothills with 7 barbs at the same time. I couldn't quite get a screenshot of all of them, but I did at least get one with 5 at once. Shame you can't Enchant them...

I hired Ip the barbarian near the end of the Frigid Highlands after buying a nice Great Sword from Larzuk. I was pretty disappointed that the Battle Cry barb mercs can't dual wield. I'm still rolling with that one for now since I thought Battle Cry and blocking would make a nice combo, but I may swap to Frenzy and Taunt if I find two nice swords. I found another gem shrine in the Crystalline Passage that got me up to 2 perfect Topazes. I put them into a 2 socket Splint Mail since I think it'll be a while until I have a 3 socket Ancient Armor that can be used and I wanted the MF boost now; we're up to 166. Ip isn't really killing much anymore since Blizzard is so strong, so he is now wearing a Stealth in a Splint Mail. I still have one more 2 socket one saved for long term if Smoke is needed and we find a Lum.

One of our best finds in a while was a Scintillating Amulet of Fortune with 15 Res/21 MF. It immediately replaced Sorrow's plain 23MF amulet. Anya gave us a rare Smoked Sphere which was nice but it didn't have much going for it other than + mana. It replaced our War Staff since we'll be rocking a shield at some point hopefully soon.

We found the WP for the Frozen Tundra as soon as we got there, so we decided to go take care of Nithalak before continuing. We ended up finding our first Shael, as well as a useable Hawkmail in the last two wings of the Halls of Vaught. Nice to have some CBF for Ip if it's needed. The Shael went immediately into a Rhyme, which replaced the Tower Shield of Deflecting. I don't remember exactly when we bought it, but I'd been checking Malah for War Staffs and eventually came across this beauty. I'll take TP charges with bonus to useful skills, thank you very much!

Rest of Act 5, Baal, and Cows were straightforward. Have I mentioned that blizzard just destroys Normal? Baal dropped nothing that improved our gear.

And with that, Sorrow is a Destroyer!

Sorrow is level 48, waiting to get back into the Moor in NM. ~~I'll post a gear readout once I download the 2.5 GoMule~~. Good luck to everyone participating, reading the updates has been awesome! I'll start posting more regular updates now that Sorrow is in NM. Figured out GoMule, so here we go.

Name: Sorrow
Class: Sorceress
Experience: 41417682
Level: 48

Naked/Gear
Strength: 75/75
Dexterity: 89/90
Vitality: 96/96
Energy: 35/61
HP: 279/415
Mana: 129/211
Stamina: 207/207
Defense: 22/185
AR: 395/430

Fire: 71/31/-29
Cold: 80/40/-20
Lightning: 94/54/-6
Poison: 97/57/-3

MF: 189 Block: 50
GF: 58 FR/W: 0
FHR: 0 IAS: 0
FCR: 0

Fire Bolt: 1/1
Warmth: 1/1
Inferno: 1/1
Blaze: 1/1
Fire Ball: 1/1
Fire Wall: 1/1
Enchant: 1/1
Meteor: 1/1
Fire Mastery: 1/1
Hydra: 0/0

Charged Bolt: 0/0
Static Field: 0/0
Telekinesis: 0/0
Nova: 0/0
Lightning: 0/0
Chain Lightning: 0/0
Teleport: 0/0
Thunder Storm: 0/0
Energy Shield: 0/0
Lightning Mastery: 0/0

Ice Bolt: 18/18
Frozen Armor: 0/0
Frost Nova: 1/1
Ice Blast: 1/1
Shiver Armor: 0/0
Glacial Spike: 1/1
Blizzard: 13/13
Chilling Armor: 0/0
Frozen Orb: 0/0
Cold Mastery: 5/5

Ocher Heavy Gloves of Fortune
Heavy Gloves
Defense: 5
Durability: 7 of 14
Required Level: 12
Fingerprint: 0xaad03ec3
Item Level: 20
Version: Resurrected
Lightning Resist +15%
21% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Entropy Hold (Ormus)
Ring
Required Level: 13
Fingerprint: 0x932f485b
Item Level: 21
Version: Resurrected
10% Chance to cast level 3 Nova when struck
+1 to Maximum Damage
+6 to Energy
Cold Resist +8%
Lightning Resist +29%
Poison Resist +15%

Light Plated Boots of Luck
Light Plated Boots
Defense: 11
Durability: 11 of 18
Required Level: 19
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0xc6f3b3c
Item Level: 36
Version: Resurrected
35% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Mechanic's Mask of the Jackal
Mask
Defense: 23
Durability: 12 of 20
Required Level: 7
Required Strength: 23
Fingerprint: 0x75bd40b
Item Level: 28
Version: Resurrected
+3 to Life
26% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Flawed Topaz
Socketed: Flawed Topaz

Gemmed Splint Mail
Splint Mail
Defense: 94
Durability: 12 of 30
Required Level: 18
Required Strength: 51
Fingerprint: 0xecc274b3
Item Level: 33
Version: Resurrected
48% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Perfect Topaz
Socketed: Perfect Topaz

Scintillating Amulet of Fortune
Amulet
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0x82065eed
Item Level: 35
Version: Resurrected
All Resistances +15
21% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Sturdy Belt of the Colossus
Belt
Defense: 7
Durability: 15 of 16
Required Level: 22
Required Strength: 25
Fingerprint: 0x2dbc6d5e
Item Level: 45
Version: Resurrected
+18% Enhanced Defense
+55 to Life

Corrosive War Staff of Teleportation
War Staff
Two Hand Damage: 12 - 28
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Level: 30
Fingerprint: 0x5369a5fe
Item Level: 45
Version: Resurrected
Adds 80 Poison Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+1 to Fire Mastery (Sorceress Only)
+1 to Blizzard (Sorceress Only)
+1 to Meteor (Sorceress Only)
Level 2 Teleport (35/37 Charges)

Fortuitous Ring of Radiance
Ring
Required Level: 11
Fingerprint: 0x57c837a6
Item Level: 28
Version: Resurrected
+30 to Attack Rating
13% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+3 to Light Radius

Corpse Whorl (Anya)
Smoked Sphere
One Hand Damage: 4 - 10
Durability: 35 of 35
Required Level: 36
Fingerprint: 0xda6a4351
Item Level: 42
Version: Resurrected
+20 to Energy
+24 to Life
+82 to Mana
Fire Resist +13%
Half Freeze Duration
Level 1 Frozen Orb (8/33 Charges)

Rhyme
Superior Tower Shield
ShaelEth
Defense: 23
Chance to Block: 44
Durability: 69 of 69
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 75
Fingerprint: 0xd5351f80
Item Level: 31
Version: Resurrected
+40% Faster Block Rate
20% Increased Chance of Blocking
Regenerate Mana 15%
All Resistances +25
Cannot Be Frozen
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Increase Maximum Durability 15%
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune

Ip:

Name: Ip
Race: Barbarian
Type: 2hs-Normal
Experience: 12904962
Level: 44
Dead?: unknown

Naked/Gear
Strength: 131/131
Dexterity: 83/89
HP: 754/754
Defense: 560/664
AR: 570/570

Fire: 105/65/5
Cold: 84/44/-16
Lightning: 103/63/3
Poison: 114/74/14

Stealth
Splint Mail
TalEth
Defense: 90
Durability: 30 of 30
Required Level: 17
Required Strength: 51
Fingerprint: 0xcfb4c92a
Item Level: 20
Version: Resurrected
+25% Faster Run/Walk
+25% Faster Cast Rate
+25% Faster Hit Recovery
+6 to Dexterity
Regenerate Mana 15%
+15 Maximum Stamina
Poison Resist +30%
Magic Damage Reduced by 3
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Tal Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune

Armageddon Crest
Mask
Defense: 14
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 13
Required Strength: 23
Fingerprint: 0xbe0cc044
Item Level: 43
Version: Resurrected
5% Chance to cast level 3 Frost Nova when struck
Lightning Resist +19%
Fire Resist +21%
Repairs 1 Durability in 33 Seconds

Brutal Great Sword of Carnage
Great Sword
One Hand Damage: 17 - 43
Two Hand Damage: 36 - 75
Durability: 50 of 50
Required Level: 14
Required Strength: 100
Required Dexterity: 60
Fingerprint: 0x6d7b0a35
Item Level: 45
Version: Resurrected
47% Enhanced Damage
+14 to Maximum Damage

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
SP Yes Norcim            Sorrow               Sor     48      59       NM Rogue Encampment      6
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     40      64       NM Black Marsh           5
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     33     146       Rogue Encampment NM      5
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     20+?   104       Palace Level 1           1
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     18     153       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4

little birdy · Oct 12, 2022

artemia is rolling in NM. Found a bow base for 'Insight' for my merc, found the runes, finished Act I, finished Act II. The battle with Duriel was a bit slow, but not especially difficult. Sitting at level 46 at the start of Act III.

I've nearly maxed out Freezing Arrow now, and then I will start pumping points into Valkyrie until it is maxed. I have yet to find any usable spears for use with Impale/Fend, so I hope I come across something eventually. Have something decent on switch to deal with Cold Immunes in Hell would be nice.

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
SP Yes Norcim            Sorrow               Sor     48      59       NM Rogue Encampment      6
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     40      64       NM Black Marsh           5
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     46     146       Kurast Docks NM          7
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     20+?   104       Palace Level 1           1
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     18     153       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4

little birdy · Oct 13, 2022

Sadly, artemia is not rolling anymore. A pack of Dolls charged at me in the Durance of Hate L2. I accidently let loose a Freezing Arrow, which blew them all up, which of course blew me up too. I should have backed up and re-summoned my Valkyrie in front of them before firing at them. A costly mistake!

Can somebody please roll me a new character? I would like to try a Paladin this time. The default weapons (Scepter and Sword, I think?) are good.

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
SP Yes Norcim            Sorrow               Sor     48      59       NM Rogue Encampment      6
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     40      64       NM Black Marsh           5
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     20+?   104       Palace Level 1           1
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     18     153       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     50     146       Durance of Hate          7

Nona · Oct 14, 2022

little birdy said:

Sadly, artemia is not rolling anymore. A pack of Dolls charged at me in the Durance of Hate L2. I accidently let loose a Freezing Arrow, which blew them all up, which of course blew me up too. I should have backed up and re-summoned my Valkyrie in front of them before firing at them. A costly mistake!

Can somebody please roll me a new character? I would like to try a Paladin this time. The default weapons (Scepter and Sword, I think?) are good.

View attachment 83683

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
SP Yes Norcim            Sorrow               Sor     48      59       NM Rogue Encampment      6
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     40      64       NM Black Marsh           5
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     20+?   104       Palace Level 1           1
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     18     153       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     50     146       Durance of Hate          7

I have lost more HC to nightmare dolls then anything else. Even knowing that, and even being really careful it still happens! Condolences, and I hope your next character has better luck!

Vang · Oct 14, 2022

Can somebody please roll me a new character? I would like to try a Paladin this time. The default weapons (Scepter and Sword, I think?) are good.

@little birdy Your Paladin:

Skills: 11,12,14,16,18,21,22,26,28

Defensive Aura: Nope.
Offensive Aura: Might, Holy Fire, Blessed Aim, Holy Freeze, Sanctuary
Combat Skills: Sacrifice, Smite, Vengeance,Holy Shield

Weapons Chosen (Sword:12, Scepter:3) Bastard Sword, War Scepter
Weapons Random (Scepter: 2, Mace: 1, Staff: 4) Grand Scepter, Club, Battle Staff

Armor (2,3,12): Leather Armor, Hard Leather Armor, Plate Mail
Head (5,9) Great Helm, Circlet
Shields (1,5) Buckler, Spiked Shield
Gloves (2,4) Heavy Leather Gloves, Light Gauntlets
Belt (1,5) Sash, Plated Belt
Boots (1,2) Boots, Leather Boots

Paladin Shield(2,4) Rondache, Aerin Shield

Interesting Rolls!

little birdy · Oct 14, 2022

Nona said:
I have lost more HC to nightmare dolls then anything else. Even knowing that, and even being really careful it still happens! Condolences, and I hope your next character has better luck!

Yeah, Dolls are dangerous! It happens so fast. I figured I was a bit safer as a ranged character, but those things get on top of you in a flash.

Vang said:
@little birdy Your Paladin:

Skills: 11,12,14,16,18,21,22,26,28

Defensive Aura: Nope.
Offensive Aura: Might, Holy Fire, Blessed Aim, Holy Freeze, Sanctuary
Combat Skills: Sacrifice, Smite, Vengeance,Holy Shield

Weapons Chosen (Sword:12, Scepter:3) Bastard Sword, War Scepter
Weapons Random (Scepter: 2, Mace: 1, Staff: 4) Grand Scepter, Club, Battle Staff

Armor (2,3,12): Leather Armor, Hard Leather Armor, Plate Mail
Head (5,9) Great Helm, Circlet
Shields (1,5) Buckler, Spiked Shield
Gloves (2,4) Heavy Leather Gloves, Light Gauntlets
Belt (1,5) Sash, Plated Belt
Boots (1,2) Boots, Leather Boots

Paladin Shield(2,4) Rondache, Aerin Shield

Interesting Rolls!

Thanks @Vang ! Interesting indeed. I'm not sure how I will approach this yet, but it should be fun in any case.

Vang · Oct 14, 2022

little birdy said:
Yeah, Dolls are dangerous! It happens so fast. I figured I was a bit safer as a ranged character, but those things get on top of you in a flash.

Thanks @Vang ! Interesting indeed. I'm not sure how I will approach this yet, but it should be fun in any case.

Might (Or Holy Freeze if using might mercenary)-smite-holy shield. I'd probably try that. Make a Black rune word and Blood Gloves (possible find G.Face too!)

little birdy · Oct 14, 2022

Vang said:
Might (Or Holy Freeze if using might mercenary)-smite-holy shield. I'd probably try that. Make a Black rune word and Blood Gloves (possible find G.Face too!)

I was thinking that too. Sadly, I think I won't be able to make 'Black'. IIRC a Club / Cudgel / Truncheon tops out at 2 sockets. I might still go the Smite route without 'Black'. I could also try maxing Vengeance and Holy Freeze, and use Smite on bosses. I'll probably just pump points into Holy Fire to get through Normal, because I know that will be fine, and then re-evaluate in NM (assuming I get that far

) and re-spec at a higher level.

'Strength' in a Club or one of the Scepters I rolled would get me some Crushing Blow too...

Arc1212 · Oct 14, 2022

Crash, my level 32 Barbarian died in Act 5 at the throne of destruction. I grinded my way up to berzerk thinking it would really get easy at that point, and it was still really slow going. I did get two sigon's set pieces which helped with life steal, but my overall damage was terrible. I found the Act 3 merc to be not very helpful in my case since I couldn't really tank much with my chosen skills. He spent a lot of time just running away from enemies and not attacking. It does make me wonder how well it would perform with other tanky characters though. I bet static field could be nice, especially boosted with some +skills equipment? I think that will be my last attempt for this tournament. Thank you very much to the people organizing it and to those that patiently rolled characters for me.

Yes Arc1212 Random Ama 27 81 Act V 4
Yes Arc1212 Bones Nec 14 161 Act I Barracks 0
Yes Arc1212 Crash Barb 32 177 Act 5 - Throne 4 (?)

Nona · Oct 16, 2022

Sister_Ariel has defeated Mephisto in normal. Pretty uneventful. 3xTal and merc man carrying most of the day with now meteor helping a bit. Act IV is usually when the bow runs out of stuff and either I'll have to drop the player settings or go into more caster mode. If I can get to frozen orb I should have smoother sailing. One challenge has been the helms. Just not a lot of drops so far so I gambled a couple of circlets that were expensive and really didn't provide too much benefit.

I was hoping my two questions could be answered. Is there a consensus on frozen armor vs chilling armor?

If an orb provides active skills that are not part of my roll I am able to use those correct? Specifically, I'm looking at static field on an orb. Thanks!

gregth · Oct 16, 2022

The Reckless has reached lvl 56 and is standing at the River Of Flame NM
As expected going through NM as bonemancer is not too hard, CE is great for crowd control, but Bone spear with only one synergy is starting to be a bit weak as for killing act bosses; i guess I'll have to rely more on merc for act 5 and Hell

As for gear, really nothing exceptional though. I still could not find a 4sox broad sword for spirit, and the only base i'm allowed for White runeword is polished wand, which i could not find yet either
So i'm still using casual magic/rare/low runewords everywhere

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     56      64       NM River Of Flame          8
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
SP Yes Norcim            Sorrow               Sor     48      59       NM Rogue Encampment      6
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     20+?   104       Palace Level 1           1
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     18     153       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     50     146       Durance of Hate          7

PhineasB · Oct 16, 2022

@Nona I would probably go with Frozen Armor, as hard hitting melee is major risk, and the shards to hit missile attackers from Chilling works too slowly in my experience to make a difference for really nasty spawns. On the second question, I will defer to @Vang but my understanding is that staffmods can't be used for active, non-rolled skills, but are okay for passive non-rolled skills (like Cold Mastery or Warmth).

As for me, Randi took down Duriel after a two-week break for a nice vacation, leaving off with one arm of AS unfinished. Yesterday evening and this morning got the job done:

Truly no drops of note, except an eth Serpent Lord, which is equip-able but not useful. She stayed FoF all the way with full clears at p8, until dropping to p3 for Duriel. She is going to respec to Lightning Sentry for A3, given the quick mover monsters. She's level 29, so DS can get a point at the next level, although the monster life is so low in Normal that it likely won't get much use.

It was fun to catch up on the progress, although sorry to see the deeds mixed in. Good luck to all!

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     56      64       NM River Of Flame          8
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
SP Yes Norcim            Sorrow               Sor     48      59       NM Rogue Encampment      6
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     29     104       Lut Gholein              2
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     18     153       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     50     146       Durance of Hate          7

Norcim · Oct 17, 2022

Sorry about the deeds @little birdy. Dolls are brutal, and as others have said they've been responsible for a fair share of my HC deaths. Good luck with your Pally!

Sorrow ventured out into the Moor with Blizzards flying. We found our first Sol rune in the Cave, and then our best unique so far in a Wormskull in the Tower Level 2. Ip was starting to really need some LL and we can't craft any blood gear for him, so this was excellent.

We picked up an Eth Partizan in the Stony Field, and finally found an Amn in the Jail Level 1. Ip has been slowing down quite a bit lately, and the potential of an Eth Insight Partizan this early in NM is too good to pass up. We threw everything in the cube, prayed to the gods of RNG, and clicked transmute:

Success! I held off on swapping Mercs until we hit the Inner Cloister WP so we have a good re-starting point. We went back to Normal and hired Leharas the Prayer merc, then rolled him up his brand new Insight. 16 Med, 226ED, 4CS - pretty solid all around. Mercs minimum damage is now 3x what Ip's max damage had been. We also found and stashed a decent pair of rare Light Plated Boots for once we switch from MF gear. Pretty sure they dropped from Bone Ash.

Andy on P8 made mincemeat of Leharas, so Sorrow just ran around in circles casting blizzards until she dropped. Ribcracker was pretty cool to see, but only rolled 254 ED.

We maxed out Blizzard during Act 1 and then I started saving skill points since I couldn't decide what to do with them. Enchant had seemed like a good idea when I was theorycrafting but after running it through a skill calculator it just really doesn't add that much fire damage if it's not totally synergized and you don't have lots of plus skills. So I think I'm going to pivot and max out Meteor and put some points into Fire Mastery instead. Should provide a decent way to deal with cold immunes on lower player counts in Hell if I can get them to stay still. Plus the cool downs between Blizzard and Meteor don't overlap, so you can cast them both in quick succession.

Fara had a Mesh Belt for sale when we got to Act 2, so I crafted a blood belt hoping for good +life and some res. Got +20 life and not much else, but we finally have a 4 socket belt! We picked up 37MF Chance Guards in the Sewers Level 1, such a shame that we can't use them...

We upgraded from our Mechanics Mask with 2 flawed Topazes to a white Bone Helm with 2 perfect Topazes after clearing the Sewers. MF is up to 211, and I've noticed that we've been seeing a lot more S/U drop in early NM. Hoping that continues and we get some good stuff before we start swapping out MF gear. In hindsight I should have waited on this as I found 2 different 3 socket Death Masks in the tombs but I don't have the Perfect Topazes to fill one of them yet.

I've been having a blast with blizzard in Act 2. Now that we have Insight and an almost unlimited mana supply I feel like I'm playing Starcraft 2 and doing tank pushes. Just keep casting blizzard in front of where I'm going to move and then keep moving forward. Meteor has been really nice for those few times when blizzard just refuses to hit a stationary target. The damage isn't great yet but it definitely helps.

We finally found a weapon upgrade for Sorrow in a rare Smoked Sphere in the Maggot Lair Level 1. +2 cold skills + some extra mana is excellent! I threw a recently found Io in one of the sockets since I didn't think I'd use it otherwise and Sorrow has pretty low HP right now.

I'd saved a bunch of Ort runes and chipped gems so that I could take full advantage of our TP charge War Staff in the Arcane Sanctuary and the Maggot Lair and it greatly improved my frustration levels with the merc. I got really excited when I saw some Magefists drop from Coldworm, only to check my notes and realize I had confused Light Gauntlets with Light Plated Boots and that I couldn't use them.

Somehow I had forgotten that you can now upgrade set items in D2R. Something triggered my memory and I went and upgraded Hsarus belt for the extra potion slot since it provided better stats than my crafted blood belt. So I could have had a 4 socket belt a long time ago but alas. I'll have to try to remember this, especially for set belts like Death's moving forward.

We found a skiller in one of the false tombs, but it was a +1 Nec Curses so not really the ones we're looking for. I found my first Ancient Armor from a monster in the false tombs, a plain white one. Might throw it into the cube and see what happens at some point. Also found a 3 socket Tower Shield. I'm starting to regret shooting for 50% CTB. Sorrow really isn't engaged with monsters all that often and her life pool is really low so that when I don't block things the bulb can drop quickly. I caught some scarab bolts at one point and even with >60 LR they still really hurt. So I'm debating re-statting to move all of the points in Dex to Vit, which would be result in ~160 extra HP. Then I could move from Rhyme when we go to Hell and put 3 PDiamonds in the new Tower Shield for a really nice res boost. Got to have the obligatory shot of fighting Ancient Kaa. He looks like he should be tough be Blizzard and Meteor made quick work of him.

I was reminded while clearing all the false tombs why I prefer Orb over Blizzard. There are few things more frustrating than casting Blizzard on unravelers and having them miss completely over and over and over... Meteor helped with this but it takes quite a few to bring them down on P8 at its current skill level. We perservered though and were able to bring Duriel down. He managed to drop Leharas once, but that was all he could do. He gifted us another set of Magefists for our troubles.

Sorrow is now level 60 and resting up at the Kurast Docks before tackling the jungles. Good luck to all still going!

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     56      64       NM River Of Flame        8
SP Yes Norcim            Sorrow               Sor     60      59       NM Kurast Docks          8
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     53     121       NM Lut Gholein           7
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     29     104       Lut Gholein              2
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     18     153       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Bar      1     177       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           ???                  Ama     ??      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     50     146       Durance of Hate          7

Grisu · Oct 17, 2022

3 Perfect Topazes and 7 hours of shopping - and all I got was this lousy ~~shirt~~ Ring Mail:

I was hoping to find something like an Artisan's/Jeweler's Ring Mail of the Whale...

or of Amicae...or of Stability...I even would have settled for of Equlibrium, of the Squid/Colossus/Centaur...but Charsi kept disappointing me.

Granted, odds aren't very high. Approx. 0.1%. But I think I checked around 2k Ring Mails...

I don't know if I can stomach any more shopping, so maybe i settle for the MDR3 one to put 3 PTopazes in.

I was debating waiting for a 4 os Full Plate Mail, but I would have to be either very lucky or get to level 68 to shop for magical Jeweler's Full Plate Mails...but the odds are even worse there...to be Jeweler's and have any suffix at all is a 0.1% chance, too...

I will journey on, I guess. I currently stopped at the Palace Cellar and switched my BA merc for a HF merc. My cth with basic attack suffered a lot from it, so I might have to rely on Dragon Tail to get my charges off...

Sorry about your deeds, @little birdy and @Arc1212!

But some nice progress from others, too - very nice

Nona said:
I was hoping my two questions could be answered. Is there a consensus on frozen armor vs chilling armor?

If an orb provides active skills that are not part of my roll I am able to use those correct? Specifically, I'm looking at static field on an orb. Thanks!

In general, I find Shiver Armor to be the best in HC, because it works on attack, not on hit. So any monster attacking you, even if they miss you, get slowed. With Chilling Armor only monsters that hit you are frozen - might be too late then for you...

I usually never bother with Frozen Armor.

And yes, according to the rules you are allowed to use oskills.

Vang said:
Charged, Chance to cast, and oskills: Go nuts!

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     56      64       NM River Of Flame        8
SP Yes Norcim            Sorrow               Sor     60      59       NM Kurast Docks          8
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     57     121       NM Palace Cellar         7
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     ??     153       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     29     104       Lut Gholein              2
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes little birdy      ???                  Pal      1     208       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           Random               Ama     27      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     50     146       NM Durance of Hate       7
   Yes Arc1212           Crash                Bar     32     177       Baal's Throne Room       4

EDIT: Btw, regarding deeds in this tournament I wanted to share some thoughts: from what I've seen in and from my experience in tournaments I have the feeling that some more levels for the area the characters died in would have been good. If you take a look at the table and compare it to the levels characters played SP untwinked at p8/p8/p3 (nor/NM/Hell) usually have at this stage:

Char Name	Level died/area	SP untwinked @p8/p8/p3 at this stage of game
RandomI	61 Hell Flayer Jungle	83-84
lenna	24 Nor Diablo	32
Terror	?? NM Arcane Sanctuary	57-58
lennatwo	19 Nor Jungle Act III	~29
Grim	20 Nor Catacombs	19-20
Random	27 Nor Act V	35-49
Bones	14 Nor Act I Barracks	~16? not quite sure
Hephaestus	?? NM Cold Crow	~50
RagerX	?? Nor The Ancient's Way	~48
artemia	50 NM Durance of Hate	62-63
Crash	32 Nor Baal's Throne Room	48-49

Remember that every level gives you more Vitality/life, which is essential for HC play, and access to better skills.

I know that SP isn't for everyone, but grinding some more levels could be useful IMHO. I personally do have the feeling, that full clears makes the game much safer, because you always have a way out from a fight, because the way behind you is clear.

Nona · Oct 18, 2022

Grisu said:
3 Perfect Topazes and 7 hours of shopping - and all I got was this lousy ~~shirt~~ Ring Mail:
View attachment 83734

I was hoping to find something like an Artisan's/Jeweler's Ring Mail of the Whale...
View attachment 83735

or of Amicae...or of Stability...I even would have settled for of Equlibrium, of the Squid/Colossus/Centaur...but Charsi kept disappointing me.
View attachment 83736

Granted, odds aren't very high. Approx. 0.1%. But I think I checked around 2k Ring Mails...

I don't know if I can stomach any more shopping, so maybe i settle for the MDR3 one to put 3 PTopazes in.

I was debating waiting for a 4 os Full Plate Mail, but I would have to be either very lucky or get to level 68 to shop for magical Jeweler's Full Plate Mails...but the odds are even worse there...to be Jeweler's and have any suffix at all is a 0.1% chance, too...

I will journey on, I guess. I currently stopped at the Palace Cellar and switched my BA merc for a HF merc. My cth with basic attack suffered a lot from it, so I might have to rely on Dragon Tail to get my charges off...

Sorry about your deeds, @little birdy and @Arc1212!

But some nice progress from others, too - very nice

In general, I find Shiver Armor to be the best in HC, because it works on attack, not on hit. So any monster attacking you, even if they miss you, get slowed. With Chilling Armor only monsters that hit you are frozen - might be too late then for you... I usually never bother with Frozen Armor.

And yes, according to the rules you are allowed to use oskills.

Code:

D2R Forum Name Character Name Class Level Post # Location Score -- --- ---------- -------------- ----- ----- ------ -------- ---- Yes m4ke Random_Pala Pal 70 44 Hell Rogue Encampment 10 Yes gregth The Reckless Nec 56 64 NM River Of Flame 8 SP Yes Norcim Sorrow Sor 60 59 NM Kurast Docks 8 SP Yes Grisu Medea Ass 57 121 NM Palace Cellar 7 Yes Dazliare Kaltrexia Sor 32 113 Panda Fortress 3 Yes Nona Sister_Ariel Sor ?? 153 Panda Fortress 3 Yes PhineasB Randi Ass 29 104 Lut Gholein 2 SP Yes Oblivious Meninore Ama 20 13 Lut Gholein 1 No Arjan ??? Bar 17 34 Outer Cloister 0 Yes djmbbandie Kat Ass 16 80 Black Marsh 0 SP Yes Miron Quan Chi Nec 1 30 Rogue Encampment 0 Yes coju ??? Bar 1 5 Rogue Encampment 0 Yes Irenicus Norman Pal 1 38 Rogue Encampment 0 Yes Vildecor ??? Pal 1 77 Rogue Encampment 0 Yes AntiRush ??? Nec 1 169 Rogue Encampment 0 Yes djmbbandie ??? Dru 1 185 Rogue Encampment 0 Yes Jcakes ??? Ass 1 195 Rogue Encampment 0 Yes Vang ??? Sor 1 199 Rogue Encampment 0 Yes little birdy ??? Pal 1 208 Rogue Encampment 0 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Our departed Died against/in ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yes AntiRush RandomI Ass 61 9 Hell Flayer Jungle 12 Yes little birdy lenna Sor 24 59 Normal Diablo 3 Yes Vang Terror Nec ?? 17 NM Arcane Sacntuary 6 Yes little birdy lennatwo Sor 19 59 Jungle Act III 2 Yes djmbbandie Grim Nec 20 157 Catacombs 0 Yes Arc1212 Random Ama 27 81 Act V 4 Yes Arc1212 Bones Nec 14 161 Act I Barracks 0 SP Yes Jcakes Hephaestus Pal 48+ 18 NM Cold Crow 6 Yes Vang RagerX Bar ?? 141 The Ancient's Way 4 Yes little birdy artemia Ama 50 146 NM Durance of Hate 7 Yes Arc1212 Crash Bar 32 177 Baal's Throne Room 4

EDIT: Btw, regarding deeds in this tournament I wanted to share some thoughts: from what I've seen in and from my experience in tournaments I have the feeling that some more levels for the area the characters died in would have been good. If you take a look at the table and compare it to the levels characters played SP untwinked at p8/p8/p3 (nor/NM/Hell) usually have at this stage:

Char Name Level died/area SP untwinked @p8/p8/p3 at this stage of game
RandomI 61 Hell Flayer Jungle 83-84
lenna 24 Nor Diablo 32
Terror ?? NM Arcane Sanctuary ~59
lennatwo 19 Nor Jungle Act III ~29
Grim 20 Nor Catacombs 19-20
Random 27 Nor Act V 35-49
Bones 14 Nor Act I Barracks ~16? not quite sure
Hephaestus ?? NM Cold Crow ~50
RagerX ?? Nor The Ancient's Way ~48
artemia 50 NM Durance of Hate 62-63
Crash 32 Nor Baal's Throne Room 48-49

Remember that every level gives you more Vitality/life, which is essential for HC play, and access to better skills.

I know that SP isn't for everyone, but grinding some more levels could be useful IMHO. I personally do have the feeling, that full clears makes the game much safer, because you always have a way out from a fight, because the way behind you is clear.

Thanks! I only have chilling and frozen to choose from…maybe Ill max teleport as I don’t see any better place for my skills

Zyr · Oct 19, 2022

Grisu said:
from what I've seen in and from my experience in tournaments I have the feeling that some more levels for the area the characters died in would have been good.

I strongly concur! Also:

Grisu said:
Remember that every level gives you more Vitality/life, which is essential for HC play, and access to better skills.

Not only these factors, but also Chance to Hit (for characters, mercenaries, and minions) is far better when character level is at or above area / monster level.

Grisu · Oct 19, 2022

Nona said:
Thanks! I only have chilling and frozen to choose from…maybe Ill max teleport as I don’t see any better place for my skills

Oops, my bad

Meanwhile...

Well, yes, great and all, but I don't know if my old Rare Blade Talons with 30%IAS and 2 os is better?

Rare Balde Talons without/with one Shael: 9/8 fpa
Bartuc's Cut-Throat without Shael: 10 fpa (Larzuk socket + Shael: 9 fpa)

Overall Bartuc's seems better though...esp. if I get some plain AR from another source.

What else? Lots of other sets and uniques, some tasty ones for other characters like Chromatic Ire

or a tool for a Tesladin?

or Ko rune - one step closer to Obedience, once I find that 5 os eth elite Polearm.

and the this beauty <3

Never mind the odd collection in my shared stash - it is for my general D2 stashes (eth Crystal Sword for Charsi imbues for example).

This would have been one of the best Duriel farming maps ever, I guess:

The fight against Duriel wasn't too bad - I kept hitting him with PS Meteor strikes and fed potions to my merc to keep him alive.

My reward: Hwanin's Justice

Destroyer Medea, level 60 Phoenix Striker, with HF town guard, NM Kurast Docks next.

Code:

   D2R Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
-- --- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               ----
   Yes m4ke              Random_Pala          Pal     70      44       Hell Rogue Encampment    10
   Yes gregth            The Reckless         Nec     56      64       NM River Of Flame        8
SP Yes Norcim            Sorrow               Sor     60      59       NM Kurast Docks          8
SP Yes Grisu             Medea                Ass     60     121       NM Kurast Docks          8
   Yes Dazliare          Kaltrexia            Sor     32     113       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes Nona              Sister_Ariel         Sor     ??     153       Panda Fortress           3
   Yes PhineasB          Randi                Ass     29     104       Lut Gholein              2
SP Yes Oblivious         Meninore             Ama     20      13       Lut Gholein              1
   No  Arjan             ???                  Bar     17      34       Outer Cloister           0
   Yes djmbbandie        Kat                  Ass     16      80       Black Marsh              0
SP Yes Miron             Quan Chi             Nec      1      30       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes coju              ???                  Bar      1       5       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Irenicus          Norman               Pal      1      38       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vildecor          ???                  Pal      1      77       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes AntiRush          ???                  Nec      1     169       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes djmbbandie        ???                  Dru      1     185       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Jcakes            ???                  Ass      1     195       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes Vang              ???                  Sor      1     199       Rogue Encampment         0
   Yes little birdy      ???                  Pal      1     208       Rogue Encampment         0
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Our departed                                                           Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Yes AntiRush          RandomI              Ass     61       9       Hell Flayer Jungle       12
   Yes little birdy      lenna                Sor     24      59       Normal Diablo            3
   Yes Vang              Terror               Nec     ??      17       NM Arcane Sacntuary      6
   Yes little birdy      lennatwo             Sor     19      59       Jungle Act III           2
   Yes djmbbandie        Grim                 Nec     20     157       Catacombs                0
   Yes Arc1212           Random               Ama     27      81       Act V                    4
   Yes Arc1212           Bones                Nec     14     161       Act I Barracks           0
SP Yes Jcakes            Hephaestus           Pal     48+     18       NM Cold Crow             6
   Yes Vang              RagerX               Bar     ??     141       The Ancient's Way        4
   Yes little birdy      artemia              Ama     50     146       NM Durance of Hate       7
   Yes Arc1212           Crash                Bar     32     177       Baal's Throne Room       4

Random Tournament 2022!

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