[Simple+] Tournament of Tournaments!

[Flan]

Congrats HanShotFirst!

I am still playing, level 40 with Baal dead, but I have had a bit of a break because of RL. Hopefully start up again this weekend.

 

[Oblivious]

My humble congratulations to HanShotFirst! Thank you for the very entertaining write-up!

Seeing as first place is now taken, I decided to get Sisyphus moving through Act 1 Normal

After finding the Super Chest in Blood Moor, ignoring Flavie's appeals and man-slapping Corpsefire as per Rules of the 12 Labours tournament, I got going on p8, Full clears. It was real slow going.. The one point in Might and Holy Fire did pretty much nothing to accelerate my clear-speed. At lvl 18 I put a point in Holy Freeze which was only marginally more useful. Vengeance just got the 1 point for now, a mana cost of 4 is brutal right now, so I just started pumping synergies. A 5%ml long sword was gambled and helps a bit.

I didn't have any close calls; the paladin plays pretty safe.

Some interesting finds with about 80% mf, and 120% on merc kill, although nothing useful until now.

Arctic Furs from the Stony Field


Biggin's Bonnet from Tristram


2x Felloak from Countess and someplace else I didn't screenshots



On to Act 2. I am kinda worried about p8 Duriel to be honest...

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   53    NM Lut Gholein 0      HC            06
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     33    Harrogath      0      SC            04
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     35    Harrogath      0      HC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   28    Kurast Dock    0      HC            N/A
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   21    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Vildecor]

@HanShotFirst - Congrats on the guardian!! You really flew through the tournament quickly!

* * *

Act V is always fun, and there always seem to be plenty of set/unique drops when doing full clears. That was the case for Nineve as well. The first interesting drop, however, was a plain white item:

I effectively negated the stupid move I made in selling the old one! I was still 20 dex shy of using it at this point, so it took 4 levels before I was able to use it. Granted, a whole heck of a lot of my damage was from my lightning skills, but the higher base damage made things feel safer since I could leech a bit more.

On the way to rescuing Anya, we found a whole bunch of new stuff! First up was Treads of Cthon. The set bonuses of Hsaru's was still better though. Shortly afterwards, our mercenary was able to get set bonuses of her own with Vidala's Ambush. In the Crystalline Passage, we found our first piece of Sigon's -- Sigon's Sabot. This would definitely be nice if we found another piece!

And then everything changed.

Our second one-handed S/U item. We were now forced to give up the javelin and play as a passivezon. I still had Goreshovel stashed for this inevitable moment, so that's what I began to use, as I really did not want to be locked into a horribly slow blocking rate. Thanks to all the skill points we had saved up before level 18, Valkyrie was already at level 4. Every further level would see the Valkyrie grow even stronger until either she was maxxed out or I found a Spear.

The Crystalline Passage was not done giving out gifts though. Sigon's Wrap gave me a second piece of Sigon's, and though I was tempted to swap out belt and gloves for the 30% attack speed, I instead decided at this point to equip my Arctic Furs and Binding for an additional 40% MF.

The scroll of resistance and resist all bonus from the arctic set put my fire resistance over 75%, and Nihlathak's CE barely even tickled. I had still lured out almost all of the enemies near him anyway out of habit. Nihlathak himself gave me an eth Gravenspine. I still had 2 more wings of the Halls of Vaught to clear, and one of them finally filled my empty amulet slot with a Civerb's Icon. Better than nothing, I guess.

Continuing onward, it wasn't long until I found a very nice weapon upgrade.

This immediately replaced the Goreshovel. To put icing on the cake, the Glacial Trail also scored me my third piece of Sigon's -- Sigon's Gage. The Arctic set pieces were abandoned and I equipped all 3 of my pieces of Sigon's set for 10% more MF, a very nice 30% IAS, and a total of 23% LL. I also put back on my Cathan's Mesh for the sexy green color.

With how generous Act V had been up to this point, it's almost surprising that I didn't find any more S/U items until I started clearing Baal's minion waves. Nevertheless, I had cleared the ancient at /p1, though I probably could have just kept going on /p8 and brought spare red/purple pots. My valkyrie at this point was starting to deal some serious damage (more than I was). Achmel was the one that awarded me with the aformentioned S/U item -- Sander's Taboo. It's nice enough to keep stashed for when pieces of Sigon's get replaced.

Lister and his minions took a while to kill on /p8, but it wasn't too bad. Eventually they positioned themselves surrounding the Valkyrie and I was able to kill half of them before their knockback complicated matters. After that, I was able to lead Lister away and deal with him by himself before finishing off the last of the ones targetting the valk. I decided to keep Baal at /p8 since I doubted he would pose much of a challenge and I had already wimped out on the Ancients. It was, of course, a lengthy battle, but I was never in much danger. If he landed a few successive hits on me I would need to use a red pot, and that was the extent of the danger. He finally fell, bestowing me the last S/U items of Act V.

I managed to almost clear all of normal difficulty without finding an Isenhart's BP.... The Blastbark, with it's +2 to Exploding Arrow, went straight to Klaudia, bringing that skill up to level 10. I also swapped out her Vidala's armor for Isenhart's, just for the extra defense.

It was then on to the cow level. I was nervous about being surrounded and being put in constant hit recovery, but things went super smoothly. Even facing multiple cows, I could hold my own just fine. After mapping out the perimeter, I had the sneaking feeling I had forgotten about clearing the Infernal Pit. I took a waypoint and made a mad dash to the portal, and it turns out I was correct. A quick clear netted me with a Gleamscythe. Finally the Cow King fell, and gifted us our final S/U item of this playthrough and our first duplicate item -- another Death's Guard.

All in all, this session was very fun: from going to experiencing Lightning Strike growing in power, do being forced into a passivezon playstyle. As soon as Cleglaw's Tooth dropped, I couldn't gamble since Nihlathak had made his exit from town, but after saving Anya I had gambled away all my 300k gold on Brandistocks yet again to no avail. After I found the Battlebranch, I decided to stop gambling for it, as things were going fine and I was sure to find a Spear at some point before Hell (right?). I've played a few passivezons before and I enjoy the playstyle.

I don't see any issue even if I have to go through all NM as a passivezon, as a maxxed out Valk and a decent merc can easily handle things well enough alongside good decoy use. As a bonus, how often is it that you get to play as a Polearm Amazon? In closing, here's a fun screenshot I took of some polearm vs polearm action in the Cow Level.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   53    NM Lut Gholein 0      HC            06
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     49    NM Rogue Camp  0      HC            05
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     33    Harrogath      0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   28    Kurast Dock    0      HC            N/A
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   21    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[skoolbus]

Monty continued his gloriously naked adventures in Act III. Found one or two charms that may last all through the game, we'll see. Meph was no problem.


2/3 of Cleglaw's in one drop! Exciting stuff there. Some questions were raised about the competency of the architects of hell in Act IV:


Some magical floating structures were observed. Monty chickened out and lowered it to /p3 from /p8 for the first time for the Diablo fight. I feel reasonably confident he would have won on /p8, only had to resurrect the merc once, but I didn't want to prolong the fight, since his resists are very bad (though the lightning shrine lasted the entirety of the fight).


I'm debating respec'ing into FoH when the new patch hits, holy bolts hitting Demons and Undead makes it a viable skill in my book. Hammers aren't proving to be very stimulating, hopefully in NM the heightened threat of death will make it more exciting to play him. He does kill quite fast though, the timestamps on the screenshots show just under an hour to complete Act IV which is certainly faster than I usually do it. I do leave a LOT of stuff on the ground that I would normally pick up (including gold if it's not in the direct path I'm going) and don't bother hunting down every last mob to kill, so that is certainly speeding the playthrough up.

 

[Kstil3227]

Hurricane-Syd has made the journey through NM including the cows and survived it all. Making Conqueror at level 74 (dinged in Cows).

Act 2 started with the sewers at P5. First time dropping the players setting with this character, biggest reason was the health pool of P8 Duriel lingering at the end. Syd ended up keeping that same P5 setting throughout the rest of NM. It made hurricane/tornado's damage look awesome and make quick work of most monsters. It also mitigated most of the incoming damage from ranged attacks, which hurt and took the biggest chunks of Syd's low life pool. Syd hasn't found too many life charms or gear with +life to bring that pool up to a better number. Being restricted to 1 skill tree in the Committed tournament means no Oak Sage for the boosted life.

The only dropped that was even worth mentioning was another pair of Sanders' boots. Other than that it was a full clear to Radament who went down without a fight at all.

Nothing else to report during the questing phase of Act 2, full cleared everything in the way. Naj's Circlet dropped in the Palace Level 1, but it still wont replace the Rare Druid Pelt Charsi gave Syd back in Act 1.

Ancient Kaa was found in the 2nd false tomb of this NM playthrough. Extra Strong, Fire and Light Enchanted...so ya Syd was staying way away and firing tornadoes in hope of hitting him.

Kaa was nice enough to drop a decent jewel for an Javazon. 15IAS + 2 MPK.

Off to Duriel after the rest of the False tombs were combed through yielding no drops. Syd can't expect much with having 0MF for this playthrough. Duriel focused on Waheed and took tornadoes til he dropped.


Once Duriel was down, it was time to slog through the jungles full clearing that as well. A unique amulet drops closely after leaving the docks. Thinking of all the unique amulets that could helped, the only 2 being Mahim-Oak and Saracen's. +attributes and +all res. Could Syd be that lucky...of course not. Nokozan it was.

Completing the quests and progressing through the jungle Syd went. Gathered the Gidbinn and gave it to Ormus, in return Ormus gave Syd a ring upgrade! FCR with Fire Resist. That's better than the plain 10FCR Syd has had since early on in normal.

This is definitely a crazy playthrough, first Charsi's imbue quest comes through and now Ormus. Normally all other playthroughs, every quest reward item is sold right away.

Syd made the journey into the temples and sewers once the jungles were completed. A nice rare pike was dropped in 1 of the temples, it was worth the upgrade recipe, had 2 open sockets which were filled with an Amn rune and a perfect Emerald.

A difficult place awaited Syd soon, NM Travincal. Fire and Light enchants with the hyrdas all over. Syd had to approach cautiously to complete this quest ahead. Council members 1 by 1 fell and dropped loot. Only one note worthy drop, Bonesnap. Not useful on this play through but could be moved to a twinked Barb or Bear play through.

Mephisto was next and that wasn't much of a fight. Stand far and fire tornadoes, keeping Waheed alive for fight.

The coronet would have been nice if it rolled druid skills and not Shadow Skills.
In the end Syd sold the drops and moved on to Act 4 with max gold in the stash, so that meant time to gamble rings and amulets. 1 amulet was an upgrade though. More resists!

Outer Steppes dropped a druid item but having Spirit wasn't worth it. Dark Clan Crusher. After that, Izual was disposed of and dropped Bartuc's


City of the Damned was run through with ease and down into the River of Flame Syd goes. Hephasto dealt with and now hoping for a Lum or Pul rune to drop....sadly neither....Sol rune it is...

Cleared the Chaos pretty easily as well on P5. Diablo must have had it out for Syd, the only attack he wanted to use for about 90% of the fight was his dreaded lightning hose. Syd spent most of the fight on the move firing random tornadoes at Diablo while Waheed tried to keep up following Syd. After about 3 minutes the fight was over. All rares. All Sold


1 act left in NM stood in the way of Syd and the Conqueror status. Right out the gate of Harrogath Syd finds a nice KO rune. That rune goes to a HoTo, HAHA. Doubtful in this single-pass playthrough, but hey Syd can hope for the best.

After this drop, nothing but experience was gained during the next few areas. Down into the icy caves Syd went. IK boots dropped in the Crystalline Passage, those were put in the stash to be muled away. Next drop was a more troll drop than an actual good drop. An armor rack in the Frozen River dropped a Shako?!? What? Oh wait, its a 1os Shako. HAHA. Leave it lay there on the frozen ground.

Syd journeyed the rest of the way through the saving Anya, killed Nihl, and full cleared the Frozen Tundra. Once in the Ancients way looking for the summit, Syd came across the first monster that could not be killed when able to fight it. Stone Skin + Cold Enchanted Blood Lord. That means immune to physical and immune to cold. Syd has no other attacks and Waheed's poison was not enough to even put a scratch. Syd and Waheed had to bid a farewell and run around to leave Gut Bang sitting there.

Next up was the Ancients, hoping the rolls on the 3 were nice for Syd. Magic Resistant Talic, Teleport Kolic, and Extra Fast Madawc. Awesome rolls for these 3 and that makes quick work for Syd.


WSK was easy and fully cleared. Baal waves were dealt with in the room they all spawned. No kiting was needed. Down to Baal Syd and Waheed go.


DOWN GOES BAAL! DOWN GOES BAAL! in NM , knowing all too well P8 cows is next because Syd said cow level is the same P-setting as ACT 1 of that difficultly. The cow level turned out to be nothing to hard, just kept distance and fired tornadoes. Conqueror Syd.

Syd had some gold piled up in the stash after the Cows so it was time to pay Gheed a visit. 2 rings were worth keeping for resists in Hell.


Here are the stats and skills for Syd entering Hell. Resists are not terrible for a single pass character. The one scary part is the 516 HP life pool Syd has to deal with during this journey through Hell.

Wishing Syd luck on this last part through Hell. Until next time. Stay safe, good luck and happy hunting.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   74    H Rogue Camp   0      HC            10
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     49    NM Rogue Camp  0      HC            05
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     33    Harrogath      0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   28    Kurast Dock    0      HC            N/A
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   21    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Kstil3227]

Normally I would wait to post another update, but this one couldn't wait. I had some time Tuesday/Wednesday evenings to start Syd's journey through Hell.

It didn't take long into Act 1 to find the first double immune that Syd could not kill. Death Wight the Tainted. These names the game generates for unique monsters is strange. Syd just ran around and left that zombie all alone.

The next things I wanted to make note of for Syd's finds is a 12%ED Superior Monarch and a Fal rune. Perfect find for a Spirit shield if Syd could make the 156 STR requirement. I started going over ways to make it possible and came up with Lionheart for the armor which gives a +25 STR, and Syd currently has 122, which the +25 would put that number at 147, only needing +10 more...so that's a start. Only need a Lum rune for that seeing as the Mausoleum dropped a Fal rune not to far from that Monarch.


Nothing to note from then til the Monastery Gate entrance where a pack of rogues decided to drop a MAL Rune! Save that for something, maybe a CtA in the long run if/when Syd survives long enough to find all the rest.

The first NDE of Syd's journey happened finally in the Jail Level 3. In the screenshot you can barely see a mana pot on the outside of the hurricane, but it was a pack of skellies, the unique had conviction and was also Cold Enchanted. Syd managed to snipe the pack with tornadoes but wasn't paying close enough attention to the distance the cold blast would be upon death. Health bulb dropping to below 150 and Syd ran and popped a health pot. Somehow my brain didn't think to hit #4 for a big Rejuv but that was enough to keep alive. My heart jumped a little for sure.


A good level 2 for Catacombs if Syd can stay alive to farm Andy after Guardian.


Down to Andariel Syd goes. It was a game of "Ring around the Blood pool" and fire tornadoes when possible. Andariel finally takes a dirt nap and drops probably the worst drops I have ever seen in Hell. I know 0MF but still, something besides this has to happen.

At least the gems are of some use. Oh well 1 act down in Hell. 4 to go.

Now on to the BIGGEST reason of this post and playthrough! I decide I still have about 20-30 minutes left before I'm done for the evening. Syd goes straight into the sewers of Lut Gholein. Killing everything that stands in the way of Syd and Radament. Radament spawns immune to Physical, so all Syd can do is sit there and let Hurricane kill Radament. Syd stocks up on health pots and a few Full Rejuvs. Little by little Radament is going down while tornadoes kill off the skellies that get revived. Then Radament goes down, and then it hits me. 0MF and I see a unique laying there with the Book of Skill. No way this can happen, but it did. I had to look up the odds of this drop. 1:24,136 according to Silo's.



Now that drop happens, its a long debate of to wear it or not over the +3 Tornado/+3 Hurricane helm. I came to the conclusion the +30 all res and the +20 to STR was worth the damage loss. Now Syd is at level 77 with 142 STR. I decided afterwards it was time to take that Monarch back to NM and socket it with Larzuk and roll spirit because its only 14 STR away...a few levels and 10 str somewhere. Larzuk punches 4 sockets and time to roll a Spirit. What a night this turns out to be. Nearly PERFECT rolls on the Spirit. 35FCR/111 mana/+6 Absorb. Oh so close but that 35FCR is huge.

After that it was time to end the night and head to bed. I could not have asked for a better Act 1 and start to Act 2. Now to survive more of the journey.

Good luck to all, stay safe and happy hunting.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   77    H Lut Gholein  0      HC            11
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     49    NM Rogue Camp  0      HC            05
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     33    Harrogath      0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   28    Kurast Dock    0      HC            N/A
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   21    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[PhineasB]

Very nice drop with that Jalal's @Kstil3227 Congrats!

Auric has made some progress, up to the first WP in A5. I did most of A3 as breaks while Septimus was finishing the last stretch, and then tackled A4 over the last week. As a reminder, he is a S/U character, zeal/HF to start, but expecting he would likely shift to Hammerdin at some point as tourney rules allow respecs.

A3 was slow and steady, continuing the full clears at p7. His topaz and shrine luck has been spectacular and already had a pTopaz in the stash by LK, and an open body armor slot. But the 3 flawed breast plate still won out. Drops were limited, as to be expected, with Stormguild filling the second shield slot, Cathan's mask giving a better second helm option that Auric donned with Berserker's shifting to the merc, and then Cleglaw's sword for a partial set and a new primary set up.


Meph fell in due course, with another flawless Topaz and two regular stashed by this point.

Then A4 was smooth sailing up to the HF, which dropped two flawless topazes, and with a continued excellent topaz luck and a gem shrine, a full pTopaz breast plate set up became possible, with an extra flawless in tow. Then we assessed before tackling CS: LR was only 23, AR was not stellar, and no crushing blow or real IAS. As we thought ahead to Diablo, I realized that we likely would need to respec to Hammerdin unless a key drop happened. I head recently reread Phaedrus' 99er write up and saw that he had died at Diablo with zeal/holy fire, and he didn't even have the gear restrictions that Auric had and at least had a Steel flail.

But we first gambled through lots of gold for skull caps and chain gloves, hoping for Tarnhelm or either unique or set gloves (the latter of which would complete the set and give a decent option for Diablo with slow). Nope:

Obviously We then tackled CS, with some solid drops but nothing of immediate use:


Amulet was Tancred's, which is very interesting for MF if we get one more set item. I felt an obligation to at least give it a go with Diablo, lowering to p1, and doing one zeal cycle before realizing he would be done if I didn't respec. Lightning hose of course came, and I had to use two full purples to keep him up. Hammerdin it was, and that was that:

The Great Sword is a good option for A5 merc, especailly because A2 merc had to go weaponless with that drop. I almost got an A3 merc, giving him one of the 1H swords and Stormguild, but I realized a weaponless A2 merc is still probably better than a A3 merc Gleamscythe dropped on the way to Shenk, and otherwise nothing of note.

He's had no real NDEs, and mana is a bit of a challenge with hammers now, but I have decided to leave Redemption running as aura given very limited boost 1 point Concentrate provides. That makes it manageable. Once he hits 41, we will do another stretch of gambling, with Heavy Belts added to the mix.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   77    H Lut Gholein  0      HC            11
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     49    NM Rogue Camp  0      HC            05
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     33    Harrogath      0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   21    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[D4di56lu3]

Harp decided to practice her skills at training barbarians right from the get go of act 5 so she could show that she was capable of handling and rear one properly. Act 5 was taken on at P7 knowing there would soon be meatshield distractions assisting Harp.


Qual-Kehk approved of her skills and devoted a very committed barbarian appropriately named Kord the this aspiring Bowazon. He would soon prove his worth by tanking unique frenzytaurs where there was little room to maneuver.


Having a merc for once is great, and soon the good stuff started to pile up, relatively good for 0%MF

Spoiler: Good stuff

After getting a merc and having FA as cc, there were no dangers at all.
Cows were takon on P7, same as act5, but with nothing more than some low runes to show for it.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table

D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   77    H Lut Gholein  0      HC            11
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     49    NM Rogue Camp  0      HC            05
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     47    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   21    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Oblivious]

Sisyphus went on tirelessly smacking monsters in Act 2, developing a tennis elbow and an addiction to mana potions which had to be chugged every 10 or uses of Vengeance. The playstyle is very repetitive and the lack of crowd control is going to be a problem in Hell. Still, apart from being relatively boring, I didn't encounter any real problems at players 8. All 5 encountered towers in the Lost City and Valley of Snakes were defeated as well as Duriel. The fight was easier than imagined, as the merc got fed potion after potion while tanking the hits. That was partly due to luck, as the pike he was weilding had a short range than my Steel Flail. Physical Damage on the weapon may develop to be a problem, as that is the most important factor for an Avenger. Hoping for some good bases and mid runes in the future acts.


Notable finds:
Deathspade - Axe which was tried on and deemed too slow
Berserker's Hatchet - Double Axe Maybe something to upgrade in 2.4 ?
Cathan's Seal -Ring
Blood Crescent - Scimitar Was pondering if that was worth the upgrade, so I test upgraded one I had on another character, and sadly the answer is no. Really disappointing damage
Isenhart's Case - Breast Plate x2
Leadcrow - Light Crossbow
Hsarus' Iron Stay - Belt which was promptly equipped for the fight with Duriel

MF at the end of A2 176%, on Merc Kill 229%

and this interesting Jewel


On towards Act 3, with the Help of a Cold Iron Wolf, just for kicks.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table

D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   77    H Lut Gholein  0      HC            11
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     49    NM Rogue Camp  0      HC            05
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     47    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   29    Kurast Docks   0      SC            02
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Vildecor]

Nineve and company continued their journey in nightmare difficulty. Things started becoming more of a slog with enemies having higher life totals, and also spending time re-positioning and/or re-casting the Valkyrie to stay safe.

A good amount of new S/U items were found on the way to rescuing Cain. A Jade Tan Do in the Cold Plains, a Visceratuant in the Cave, an Isenhart's Horns from Blood Raven, and a Sigon's Shelter in the Crypt.

Isenhart's Horns was the first piece of S/U headgear found, and went to Klaudia (who already was wearing Isenhart's BP). The Sigon's Shelter replaced Cathan's Mesh, giving Nineve a total of 4 pieces of Sigon's gear equipped as well as boosting her lightning resistance to positive numbers.

After rescuing Cain and clearing the Black Marsh, I made my way into the Forgotten Tower. The archers in here needed lots of care to handle safely. Another S/U item was found on level 5.

A shield with MF!! However, if you notice my positioning here when I captured this screenshot, seeing what happens next shouldn't be much of a surprise.

The archer pack was Fire Enchanted and Extra Strong, and from that initial SS, it looks like I had the attention of three of them. I died nearly instantly. I feel pretty embarassed biting the dust this early, and I might re-enter with another character. If I do, I plan on following the same tournament rules.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   77    H Lut Gholein  0      HC            11
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     47    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   29    Kurast Docks   0      SC            02
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Oblivious]

Being in isolation with the pest of our days, I had some time to keep going with Sisyphus which was gaining momentum in Act 3. The Cold Iron Wolf did a VERY good job with CC, when he managed to aim (I mean there is a HUGE tree in front of you, don't spam it with Ice Blast mate...) Pretty early in the jungles I found a really good ring with endgame potential:


Act 3 was smooth sailing with full clears at players 8. I got my Conviction Aura in the Great Marsh and started to have some real fun smacking the baddies. At some point after council, I decided to take a break from endless boots and gloves gambling and went for the biggest, baddest 1H stick I could find (War Hammer). After only 3 attempts I managed to gamble this beauty:



Doesn't look like much, but it was a considerable upgrade.

Mephisto was a piece of cake with max Block and resistances.

On to Act 4, where I was hoping for an Amn and a Perfect Sapphire from Hellforge, which of course I did not get. Game made it up in a couple of minutes though, dropping 2 Amns and enough normal Sapphires to cube up to a perfect. Both were promptly used with an Ort rune and afformentioned bad stick to cube an exceptional version:




The Strength investment was a bit steep, but I feel safe with max block and resists. If I Shael it I can get Vengeance to drop 2 Frames, so maybe I will.

So Diablo was coming up, and after researching the first couple of pages from the original 12 Labours tourney, I got to the conclusion that the spirit of the Labour was to not only deliver the last blow with Wirt's Leg but do the whole fight like that. So that I did. It took about 17 minutes and a lot of gold in shopped Potions but down went big D.




I had quite a few S&U drops, but nothing spectacular and worth mentioning.

On to Act 5 and hopefully Slayer

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   77    H Lut Gholein  0      HC            11
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     47    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            04
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   35    Harrogath      0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Kstil3227]

Hurricane-Syd has made the journey through the sands of the desert, through the palace, conquered all 4 ways of the Arcane Sanctuary, the Tomb of Tal-Rasha (just the true tomb), killed that dreaded bug of Duriel, trekked through the jungles of Kurast, through all the dungeons and sewers Act 3 had to offer, defeated the Council Members and slayed Mephisto in the Durance. Syd persevered through all that plus having 3 NDE's due to dolls in the Flayer Dungeon level 2, dolls in the sewers and dolls in the Durance. No screenshots as I was too busy smashing the Full Rejuv key and freaking out. There was some gear changes through this stretch of the journey for Syd along with a couple nice drops.

Dry hills dropped Tal's Belt, which will be nice to use later once Guardian is achieved.


A nice jewel was found in the Far Oasis which can be socketed into a weapon for a melee character at some point.

A nice +19 life SC dropped in the Far Oasis as well. That'll go in the stash for a little bit til a 2nd decent lifer is found to replace 1 of the Large Life charms with +25 and +20 life. Other 2 large charms are resists to keep Syd close to maxed on resist.

The Claw Viper temple dropped a really nice ETH 3os Wire Fleece that can be used to make a Treachery for the merc if a Lem rune were to drop somewhere along the way.

The Palace Level 1 decided to drop the big gear upgrade for Syd. Griswold's armor. +20 STR which puts Syd over the 156 STR, which means its DUAL Spirit time for more life! Syd stuffed 3 perfect Rubies in the armor for +114 boost plus another +22 VITA from the 2nd spirit. Life pool jumped from 608 to 744. A big help in hell with no Oak Sage to boost life.


Nothing to note drops after this and it was just questing and killing through to Duriel. Waheed held his own for a big portion of the fight, but Duriel eventually took Waheed out and turned his attention to Syd. Syd was not backing down from this and stood ground backed against the wall firing Tornadoes through the bug. It took all pots to get it done, but Syd was Victorious and moving on to act 3.


Shortly into Act 3 jungles a nice armor base for a possible Enigma (way, way, way, way down the road). 3os, +12% ED Mage Plate.

LK map has 2 camp sites and the WP (not pictured) is just behind the shrine in the top left corner. So not a terrible map to run LK with later. Real linear and with a Tele staff, should easy to access chests.


Kurast Bazaar dropped maybe the best boots I've personally found in a long time. Too bad there is MF on them, or Syd would have put them on instantly. They are stashed away for a later use.

After that it was one to Meph, having survived 3 NDE's in this Act. Waheed had been slain by the council members waiting in level 3, Syd decided why waste the 48k gold to go get him, push through and kill Meph. Syd stood the ground and tanked Meph for the entire fight. All of 2 minutes. Nothing good in the drops, just more gold to buy Waheed's services back.

On to Act 4. 13 acts down, 2 to go. Here are Syd's stats and skill layout through this point of the journey.

Gear pictured as well.

Helm--Jalal's Mane
Rare Amulet-53CR, 17LR, 17FR, 46PSN R, 71 GF, 1 max damage, Rep Life 5
Gris Armor--3 P Rubies socketed
Spirit Crystal Sword--+33 FCR
Spirit Shield--+35 FCR
Rare Gloves--26LR, 62GF, Half Freeze Duration
Hsarus' belt and boots
Rare Ring 1--10FCR, 17FR
Magic Ring 2--12 @Res, Half Freeze Duration

Charms are assorted Resists and Lifers

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   81    H Pan Fortress 0      HC            13
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     47    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            04
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   35    Harrogath      0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Oblivious]

Sisyphus completed Normal, killing every monster he could find, looking in every chest,nook and cranny at players 8. The journey through Act 5 was safe and quick using his new favourite weapon. I also gambled a nice little circlet for him


He also found a Sharp GC with +8 MaxDmg. Though not impressive now, maybe something to hold on to.
I was pondering using the Larzuk quest to socket the upgraded hammer or the circlet. But then an ethereal Partizan dropped in one of the Hell levels and was promptly made into an Insight, solving any mana issues Sisyphus had:



The challenge wasn't particularly hard with some FRW, an attract wand and a teleport staff. I made a video:

As you can see, my charging around did result in striking a monster twice. The damage was minimal, but it did happen.
I would leave it up to Vang if that disqualifies me or if I lose a point or something like that. In any case I kept going and Baal was soon a pile of rags on the floor:





No NDEs, S&E or other shenanigans.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   81    H Pan Fortress 0      HC            13
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   48    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            05
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     47    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Cattleya]

Act 2 has been completed with no deaths or S&E.

Before starting Act 2, I did some runs in Act 1. I did enough shrine runs for 2 perfect diamonds and perfect ruby. Then I decided to try Andariel for a Naglering as mentioned in my previous update. On run #3, a unique ring dropped —16% MF. Deciding I was not in the mood to be trolled further by Andariel, I moved on to Act 2.

I started the act with some shopping at Drognan. I picked up a 2os shield for a future Rhyme shield, and went hunting for a Mechanics Bone Shield of Deflecting. After about 25 minutes over a few sessions one showed up, but with only one socket. I did about 5 more minutes after that, but decided that I’d just go with that one. So, it got one of the perfect diamonds, and she now has a pretty decent shield to get through normal.

My original plan was to do full clears, but I have just not been able to find big enough chunks of time to make it happen. So, once the decision to abandon full clears was made, progress went a lot better as I could sneak in shorter sessions. (I also dropped from /p5 to /p3.)

She completed the Normal portion of “Overpower the Towers” easily. Both Lost City and Vally of the Snakes had 2 towers each.

About the time I hit the Canyon of the Magi, I decided to use up the perfect ruby I’d stashed from my shrine runs to try my luck at some blood gloves. I really want some crushing blow when I get to the Diablo labor, and figured it wouldn’t hurt for Duriel either if they rolled a low enough required level. They rolled with a required level of 37 — 4 affixes, only one of which was useful. No good for Duriel or Diablo. I suspect I’ll be spending some time in normal Lower Kurast hunting crafting materials.

The true tomb was just nasty. Unravellers, ghosts and vampires. Since the Unravellers could resurrect everything else, it was a challenge to get into melee to them to kill them without getting dangerously surrounded. I was quickly burning through the regular healing pots I had stashed, and eventually had to give up and use Light Healing potions from the vendor to make sure I had the better ones for Duriel. I ended up clearing every inch of the map before I found the entrance to Duriel’s lair.

The time for the next labor had arrived! I loaded up on thawing potions, filled my inventory with mana, healing, and full rejuvs, set the players to 8, and went to face Duriel. He went down easily, with only two health potions used.. I threw down a couple decoys, but quickly realized they weren’t necessary and just tanked him down. A bit anticlimatic after the harrowing journey through the tomb to get to him. He dropped a rare short spear that was a marginal upgrade to her current weapon, and the rest was complete junk.

I shopped a few pair of heavy gloves from Elzix for future blood glove crafting (to try and keep the ilvl down a bit) before heading on to Act 3.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   81    H Pan Fortress 0      HC            13
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   48    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            05
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     47    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            04
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     24    Kurast Docks   0      SC            02
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[D4di56lu3]

With her trusted Barbarian Merc, Kord, Harp has made an impact on the nightmarish situation in Sanctuary.
Act 1 was completed on P7 and rewarded Harp with plenty useless partizans as well as some runes and a very nice belt, although it could have been a tad more sharkskin-ish like the gloves she found earlier in the act.



Off to NM act 2, going with P7 because FA and Barb. Again the unique belts teases Harp.


And a contender for merc weapon is graciuosly delivered in a false tomb


And finally the slug drops what a slug usually drops, money from the vendors.


ONWARD TO ACT 3!!!! Harp lvl 61 Committed Bowazon and Kord the Muscleman

Spoiler: Almost gambles/drops

SO CLOSE TO PERFECT!!


Just Effing with Harp now, should have been a passivezon

And just to highlight General rules/guide clause "5. You may have 2 active characters at a time listed. It is hard to pick just one tournament!"

I will enlist Clawmoner the HC Druid who participates in the "Weapons of the Commoner and the Blessing of the King Tournament" from 2021 hosted by Vang.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   81    H Pan Fortress 0      HC            13
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   48    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            05
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     61    NM Kurast Dock 0      SC            07
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     24    Kurast Docks   0      SC            02
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00
D2R    D4di56lu3     WotC & BotK 2021    Druid   01    Rogue Camp     0      HC            00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Kstil3227]

Hurricane-Syd has finished the hard fought journey to becoming a Guardian! No respects, 1 skill tree, act 2 merc Waheed (Def. Normal, Holy Freeze NM & Hell).

Syd last left off at the beginning of Act 4. Shortly into the Outer Steppes, we knew it would be awhile to make to the Plains of Despair with 3 unique spawns, all being Grotesques. Spawning an insane amount little ones.

After they were disposed of Syd made the trek to Izual. It seems like Hell Izual is super easy compared to normal. He went down in a blink and moved on to find the City of the Damned and then into the River of Flame.

Once into the River of Flame, the first turn off was Hell Forge and here comes Hephasto charging out at Syd and Waheed. They back tracked to the stairs where they stood their ground, sort of. Hephasto was Immune to Physical, so it was all hurricane damage that had to whittle him down to nothing for the hammer. Many trips to town, and what seemed like forever (only 2 minutes) he was down and it was time for a Hell Forge rune.


Lem/Pul/Um/Mal/Ist/Gul (6 runes that would help) Hel/Io/Lum/Ko/Fal (5 runes that Syd doesn't need). So 6/11 (just north of 50%) will be helpful. Syd gets a HEL rune So mad I didn't even both with a screen shot of that. Frustrating but 1 step closer to the end. Chaos was cleared with a fair amount of ease. Syd took it straight to Diablo and tanked the fight from start to finish.


Sold off all the drops for gold and moved on to Act 5. Last act to go.
Only tough spots looking forward should be Anya, Nihl and Ancients cautious

I took a break and decided to finish up Syd later that evening.

First possible drop of value comes from an evil urn in the Crystalline Passage. Syd took care of the minions that spawned then proceeded to check the unique amulet. Mara's would be amazing....but nope Cat's Eye. Oh well, into the stash it goes.


Frozen river for Anya had a great spawn with no Souls. That was smooth sailing through there. Down to Nihlathak next. No vipers, but the witches did spawn so Syd used to the tele staff to go around them. Syd tele stomped Nihlathak and down he went.

A nice merc helm upgrade dropped in the middle of the Frozen Tundra. Tal's Helm. Nice source of Life steal and resists. If Waheed can stay alive longer than a minute.

What a welcoming party Syd gets in the Ancient's Way. Hell Lords! Ahh...RUN! Pack after pack of these terrible monsters.

After the run around, some Tele staffing and some killing, Syd found the WP and stairs. Thank god.


Ancients are up now....hoping for a good spawn...


Talic--Magic Resistant, Stone Skin. CHECK.


Madawc--Extra Strong, Teleportation Decent. Check. Just run and spam tornadoes.


Korlic--Spectral Hit, Lightning Enchanted. Check. Same as Madawc. Run and Spam.


TEN minutes of time and down go the 3 Ancients! Woo!



Down through the WSK Syd journeyed. No problems til level 3. Another welcoming party of Death Lords and Witches. Not good. Time to Tele around and locate the stairs ASAP! Check. Into the Throne room.

Ten minutes to take down all 5 waves and move onto Baal!!

Syd stayed at range firing tornadoes. Baal kept teleporting around and having to chase him around. Took Baal a long time before cloning himself, which was a pain. Syd couldn't handle 2, so each time Baal cloned, it was back to town to despawn the Clone. 20 minutes later and down goes Baal!! Guardianship for Syd.



Now for the last detail of Hell that needs to be completed for a full Guardian. Hell Cows.

It was a slow like a snail pace through cows. Syd couldn't afford to move to far and attract too many cows. Slow and steady wins this race.
2 drops to note in the cow level. Razortail and Messerschmidt's Reaver.

Syd tried to save the King for the last kill. Kited him around awhile until he was slain!

1 final trip around the cow level to make sure no Cows were left alive in this run. Its official, Baal and Hell cows down. Guardian complete!

Final stats and skills pages. No gear was changed since the previous post when Syd made it through Act 3.


After thoughts---

The committed tournament made this difficult in only 1 way. The 1 skill tree tab. Not having a Grizzly or Oak Sage hurts so much. The lack of life is huge and that 2nd "meat" shield with the grizzly made this run a lot tougher. Syd had to be more strategic with the tornadoes and also make sure there was room to escape or kite monsters around to kill them. Definitely some luck along the way with the early Imbue of the 3 Nado/Hurricane pelt and then the HUGE Jalal's drop in hell Radament. The gris armor was nice as it allowed for the 2nd spirit to be used in the Monarch. 78FCR (68 from spirits and 1 FCR ring) and 140FHR were very helpful. Max resists with the charms + Spirit Shield made the lightning enchants very easy.


Up next for Syd.---

A respect to get the stats in order and add in the Oak Sage. Then back to hell Meph for a little gear upgrading, then off to the pits/tunnels for leveling, after all that it'll be a long LK grind for Enigma. Maybe throw in some Chaos runs to offset the grind.

Long term goal--

First HC Untwinked 99 Guardian for myself. Closest I have gotten is a lvl 94 druid back in 1.14d, but he was twinked.

Take care, stay safe, happy hunting.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   83    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   48    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            05
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   36    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     61    NM Kurast Dock 0      SC            07
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     24    Kurast Docks   0      SC            02
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00
D2R    D4di56lu3     WotC & BotK 2021    Druid   01    Rogue Camp     0      HC            00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[PhineasB]

Congrats @Kstil3227 great perseverance to take the single tree Druid all the way. Well-deserved Guardian!

Auric made it through the rest of A5 without too much excitement. Two notable events:


Magefist is quite nice for a hammerdin, and the Chain Mail meant he lost his 3 pTopaz armor and was down to 0% MF. I'm actually a little surprised it took that long. Baal and the Cow King were the only S/Us for the rest of the Act, none of them useful really, given his Hotspurs.


So he was p7 the whole way except for Diablo and Ancients at p1. (Edit: forgot to mention that I switched out for a Barb merc once they were rescued to allow him to equip the Patriarch instead of a weaponless A2 merc.)

My hope is to get through NM over the next two weeks, but I may end up going back to some of my twinked characters to finish them off, which would slow down Auric's progress.

* * *

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   83    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   48    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   48    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     61    NM Kurast Dock 0      SC            07
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     24    Kurast Docks   0      SC            02
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00
D2R    D4di56lu3     WotC & BotK 2021    Druid   01    Rogue Camp     0      HC            00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Cattleya]

Grats on the Guardian @Kstil3227!

Amaranta continued into Act 3. Once she got to Lower Kurast, she started doing some farming to pick up another perfect ruby for another blood glove roll. There was a shrine near the Flayer Jungle WP, so she’d check that at the start of each run in hopes of a gem shrine. It took about 2 dozen runs between the drops, shrine, and rubies I already had to get my perfect one. They rolled terrible. 6% crushing blow, 1% life leech, 17 health, and half freeze duration. But, the required level was 20, so I called it a success and moved on. Paige the cold rogue had her first death on those runs. I decided to kill a Conviction Fetish Shaman boss near the Jungle WP with predictable results. (Amaranta wasn’t ever in any danger.)

Mephisto was annoying, but didn’t pose too much danger. (One of those stupid ghosts did take a chunk off of Amaranta’s red bulb just as she engaged Meph.) He dropped Sigon’s gloves and some rare Matriarchal Javelins that were an upgrade but not super exciting.

I did some gear shuffling to get her resists up, and managed to get her to the 86% FHR breakpoint. It was also time for some fun with Wirt’s Leg. Aside from the 3os one I’d found, I’d stashed a 1 and 2 socket one as well to try some gem rolling. (You know, for style points!) The first one rolled Savage/of the Leech on the initial normal gem roll, but only one socket. The second one didn’t roll anything interesting on the normal gem roll, and burning through my chippies also didn’t produce anything useful.

I leveled up on the River of Flame/Chaos Sanctuary runs to 31, at which point I decided I couldn’t justify putting it off any longer. So, I started a new game at /players 1 (I’m only slightly masochistic) and cleared out the Sanctuary. Like Oblivious, I decided that the spirit of the tourney required me to use Wirt’s Leg for the whole fight. Which was going to be fun with no skills to increase her damage.

Here are her stats going into the fight:

I debated taking away my merc’s bow, but decided it was crappy and probably wouldn’t make a difference. She died pretty early on in the fight, so it did not indeed make a difference. The Valkyrie died almost instantly, so I think I recast her once and then gave up. So, for about 10 minutes, it was just Amaranta and Diablo. She was taking his hits pretty well, and could take a couple ticks of the lightning, so I found I didn’t have to retreat when chilled. His health went down slowly, but steadily. The 6% crushing blow wasn’t much, but it turned out to be enough, and Diablo fell.

It was surprisingly enjoyable to smack him to death with Wirt’s Leg.

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   83    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   48    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   48    Eldritch WP    0      HC            N/A
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     31    Harrogath      0      SC            04
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     61    NM Kurast Dock 0      SC            07
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00
D2R    D4di56lu3     WotC & BotK 2021    Druid   01    Rogue Camp     0      HC            00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[PhineasB]

Oops:

Lack of lightning and cold resists, and questionable judgment did Auric in. He was negative on LR and single digits on CR. We had multiple LI/CI bosses in Dark Wood, and then the Hole, and rather than taking a break to calibrate, we pressed on. Two more LI/CI bosses on level 1 in the Tower, and a dumb decision to try to kill this Dark Archer boss rather than running past and letting merc tank.

Oh well Drops really made it tough, as can be the case with S/U tourneys. The Pally is a thorn in my side, so I will pick out another tournament that isn't as drop dependent.

* * *

Tournament of Tournaments Participation and Score Table
D2V    Forum Name    Tournament Name+YR  Class   Level Location       S&E    HC/SC         Score
----   ----------    -----------------   -----   ----- ----------     ----   -----         -----
D2R    HanShotFirst  BulgingBiceps2020   Barb    86    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Kstil3227     Committed2015       Druid   83    Guardian       0      HC            15
D2R    Oblivious     12 Labors 2011      Pally   48    NM Rogue Camp  0      SC            05
D2R    coju          12 Labors 2011      Nec     36    Harrogath      0      SC            05
D2R    Cattleya      12 Labors 2011      Ama     31    Harrogath      0      SC            04
D2R    D4di56lu3     Committed2015       Ama     61    NM Kurast Dock 0      SC            07
D2R    Flan          WhatsYourPoison2004 Ama     28    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
D2L    D2DC          12 Labors 2011      Dru     20    Lut Gholein    0      SC            01
D2R    skoolbus      Naked 2007          Pally   20    Lut Gholein    0      HC            01
D2R    Babyhell      Overburdened 2019   Sorc    04    Cold Plains    0      SC            00
D2R    D4di56lu3     WotC & BotK 2021    Druid   01    Rogue Camp     0      HC            00
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Back to ashes (aka Deeds)
D2R    Vang          IgottheBlues2005    Asn     74    Lwr Kurast H   0      HC            12
D2R    Vildecor      SUWorshipper2018    Ama     50    NM Black Marsh 0      HC            05
D2L    PhineasB      Env of G&G 2013     Pally   49    NM Tower       0      HC            N/A
D2R    Kstil3227     BrotherBear2004     Druid   34    Pan Fortress   0      HC            03
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Vildecor]

@PhineasB - Condolences on the death.

That darn tower did us both dirty.