RFL 2022 When?

[PhineasB]

@ffs asked if I was planning to host RFL again this year, which I am, so I figured I should post a thread to gauge interest and finalize the schedule.

I'm thinking to keep last year's adjusted format with Friday 0:00 to Sunday 23:59 rounds over 17 days and then 4 days break until the next round. That seemed to work out well as a good compromise to keep the RFL from stretching over more than three months but still allows three weekends to be captured within each round as a reasonable timeframe for a 20-hour set.

After last year and relatively low participation in the first two rounds, I had thought about proposing an alternate format, maybe combining or eliminating one round. But with the increased activity at the SPF due to D2R and lots of returnees, my thought is to stick with the three-round format. Background on RFL can be found in the RFL threads in the tournament listings thread (scroll down) maintained through the phenomenal work of @Pb_pal.

Here's a tentative schedule, although we could also bump it forward or back by a week:

• Round 1 (Cows): 0:00 Friday, March 11 through 23:59 Sunday, March 27
• Round 2 (Travincal): 0:00 Friday, April 1 through 23:59 Sunday, April 17
• Round 3 (Areas): 0:00 Friday, April 22 through 23:59 Sunday, May 8

And, as with last time, other versions beyond v1.07 will be included. Looking forward to it, @all. I'll post the Round 1 thread in the next two weeks, once we finalize timing based on interest. Moo!

 

[nepeta]

Go!

 

[Babyhell]

I'll get a set done yeah, whatever the dates.

Getting ready!

 

[Excalibur]

I think the format is great and doesn't need to change. Last Rune/Magic find tournament had many participants!
I would also be in favor of any format that will encourage trading or teaming!
Looking forward to it!

 

[ffs]

I'll participate in any case, time frame seems good and yeah last year's format was great, no need to change anything IMO.

 

[Excalibur]

A small suggestion. We can also add the councils from Durance of Hate level 3 in the second Round?
The farming in Travincal ends too fast and personally I can not stand repeating the process constantly in such a short duration.

 

[Pb_pal]

WOOOOOOO!!!

I will join, though I'm not sure I'll be able to complete a full catalog of sets. I should only need a few minutes anyways to pop a couple Zods and be on my way.

 

[Vildecor]

I'll definitely be running this year also. I'm currently rushing a SC Furyzon to prepare for Round 1. Still debating if I want to use my ethereal Griffon's on her or not (it's the only Griffon's I have). I'll probably go ahead and pop it on and see how long it lasts.

 

[Kartongen]

I should be using my available time on my sept, but I have been a little obsessed with rune finding ever since I found a Ber. So I might join, and split my time 50:50 between RFL and SSSS.

I can use my zon for round 1 and 3, but would need to get something together for round 2. Anyone have a budget blizz sorc set-up they can link to? Like really budget - I don't care about efficiency, as long as she can run it.

 

[Babyhell]

Like really budget - I don't care about efficiency, as long as the merc can run it

Corrected.

Budget setup for the sorc will be the easy part IMO, but you will need Insight and a surviving merc. Kira's and Guardian Angel are the usual combo I'd say, with some red pots that should be fine enough.

But well budget is more reuse related so...don't know.

 

[Kartongen]

Kira's and Guardian Angel

Big problem is I dont have Kira, and unsure if I have GA.

Might have to sit round 2 out then. Shame, cause apart from Jah runes it is mainly jewelry I am most hyped for. (Wisp projector in particular.)

 

[art_vandelay]

I can use my zon for round 1 and 3, but would need to get something together for round 2. Anyone have a budget blizz sorc set-up they can link to? Like really budget - I don't care about efficiency, as long as she can run it.

Adding to what @Babyhell has said, you should be aiming for the following on a Travincal Sorceress:

1. Sturdy mercenary, as detailed above. If no Infinity available you use Insight or Reaper's. Only downside of Insight is that with GA and Kira's you will have no leech on him.
2. Maxed Light and Cold resistances on yourself, the council often spawns convictions and enchantments are no joke. Their lightning attack also can deal 100 damage easily with bad resistances.
3. Fire resistance is tricky. Either you max it and drink pots or you stack MDR or you use an absorb item like Hellmouth/Rising Sun. In the last case Hydras will actually heal you, while in the middle case you can negate their damage outright. This is because they deal less than 30 fire damage per shot to you. For the mercenary they deal around 150 fire damage, which is why he needs a special setup.
4. Get at least 170 (or so) magic find on your character, this ensures the highest chance for rare rings. After all you want to find some goodies besides runes

Big problem is I dont have Kira, and unsure if I have GA.

Might have to sit round 2 out then. Shame, cause apart from Jah runes it is mainly jewelry I am most hyped for. (Wisp projector in particular.)

In case of no Kira's you should still try to run, some people have run without a mercenary in the past when they didn't have the right gear and that worked out somehow.

If all else fails... do you have a barbarian?

 

[maxicek]

Dates look good to me.

In the unlikely event I pop a Ber (actually Lo Sur would do it) in the next few weeks I'm thinking about doing Cows and alvl85 with my Trapper in D2R.

 

[Babyhell]

@Kartongen take giveaways or loans? (1.14D in my case)

 

[Babyhell]

Thanks to Charge/Vigor, a Paladin setup can work too. And well merc can be ignored on p3...

I didn't try with a budget setup though, as my HC one already had a Grief and a CoH at this time.

I would go with a Conviction setup for safety, still Zeal to somehow ignore mana burn, but Smite can work too.

Dwarf Star, doubled or a rare with res/LL/ML, Mara's/resistances amulet with LL/ML (you don't need much ML, but LL is kinda mandatory)
Thundergod's belt (lightning absorb max Lres, some lightning damage), Laying of Hands gloves (350ed vs demons, 50Fres), 30FRW/res boots
Armor...Duress (cold damage, CB, 15allres), Treachery (IAS, Fade), Smoke, Gloom
Rhyme shield (25allres+base paladin shield res bonus)
Any Grief would obviously be the BiS...Azurewrath maybe, but Lawbringer can be tested I guess due to Conviction setup. ethereal Oath should be viable too, thanks @lizard for pointing out! However in the case of a Paladin that should only be in a 1 hander.

Cta+spirit on switch if possible. If no CTA, the Barb would probably be a good bet, but a whirling machine could require two Grief?

I may do some testing by this week-end and see how it works.

 

[lizard]

Cta+spirit on switch if possible. If no CTA, the Barb would probably be a good bet, but a whirling machine could require two Grief?

I had a scuffed GF Trav Barb with two Oaths in eth Balrog Blades that worked ok. the 75 Demon ED and 15 Magic absorb helps, but would need some leech another place. Should do ok on p3, but obviously not the fastest.

 

[art_vandelay]

I had a scuffed GF Trav Barb with two Oaths in eth Balrog Blades that worked ok. the 75 Demon ED and 15 Magic absorb helps, but would need some leech another place. Should do ok on p3, but obviously not the fastest.

Sadly the magic absorb does not work like MDR, see this AB wiki page:

https://www.theamazonbasin.com/wiki/index.php?title=Magic_Absorb

Did you have dual Dwarf Stars? Because their MDR usually (with sufficiently high rolls) negates all of the Hydra Damage (less than 30)

 

[lizard]

Sadly the magic absorb does not work like MDR, see this AB wiki page:

https://www.theamazonbasin.com/wiki/index.php?title=Magic_Absorb

Did you have dual Dwarf Stars? Because their MDR usually (with sufficiently high rolls) negates all of the Hydra Damage (less than 30)

ahh okay. I wasn't sure. I think I had one DS and a rare leech ring, but have not played that char in a loong while. Just wanted to add a budget option, in terms of runes, the bases can be a bit more tricky to get, but you would find them easily during cows in round 1 ;D.

 

[Babyhell]

@lizard I forgot about oath, in ethereal base it's nice enough right! I'll edit my post.

 

[ffs]

Oath for Trav Barb is great if Grief (or BotD) is not available. If you have Beast that's probably a good idea too. I tried Grief/Beast BAs on Trav Barb and it works very nicely, the better weapon range in comparison to 2x Grief PBs is noticeable and potentially results in (slightly) faster runs in theory. However, repair needs with axes gives dual Grief PB the edge overall.

In D2L I'd take Sorc over Barb any day for Travincal. However, for those running in D2R (which I might), I'm pretty confident that Barb > Sorc. Assuming similar gear level and execution and unless people figured out how to address those horrible D2R loading times. Their impact on Sorc efficiency is much bigger than for Barb, plus gold autopickup addresses the biggest argument against Barb, namely item cluttering.