Skill-less tournament (3rd edition)

jiansonz said:
You can shop several decent 2s weapon types from Fara. Flail is my favourite.
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I know, but I frowned at her offers until now. I need a superior one with a little +ED%, please. :)

SunsetVista said:
Halfway through the River of Flame, after I ran away to separate some spawners, I was hit with the bug where monsters completely ignore my merc. I set it back to /p1 and cast Dim Vision a lot to keep myself from getting toasted. I'm mad that I missed out on xp and drops, but glad to be alive.
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That bug still in in 1.13?!? Those lazy Blizzards ....

SunsetVista said:
I'm going to need a better way to kill bosses soon. Normally some skills would be kicking in about now. But not today.
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An idea might be some crafted gloves with a little CB. Sure, it means surviving close to the boss. Perhaps with a long range weapon ...

Adriana has moved on. Aliza wandered along but, man, is she hard to aim. Approaching Radament I forgot to scan the area for useful shrines and found myself staring at an Experience one with no valuable monsters around. Sighing heavily I decided to put it on and assault the first desert area as I know a unique usually lives there. Wrong, there were two unique packs around, but did I manage to reach them? Well, no, because Aliza decided some leapers were much more interesting and I used up all my shrine time without a single leaper at my belt. Not to mention all those beetles Adriana had to tank for extended periods of time because Aliza had better things to do. Those, along with the fact that the boss pack at the entrance of Dry Hills was killed by Adriana herself (as Aliza was determined to change her mind every second: "Now I want to tank all by myself this boss pack here... Now I want to shoot some arrows at a random target... Now I want to walk around between the monsters... Now I don't like it anymore and want to get out... Now I will shoot ONE more arrow", ad infinitum), got her fired. I probably am not smart enough to compensate for a rogue's stupid AI. I could have tried harder to separate the targets to get her only one option at a time, maybe some terror charges, but I was just tired of her. And in the Arcane Sanctuary would be quite a challenge to keep all those ghosts above ground.

Anyway, a new merc was hired with a blessed aim skill, and I plan to exchange him as needs change. Adriana takes care of the Hollow Ones (from time to time the merc also happens by) and merc handles the rest. A cap of frost shield which he wears also helps by occasionally freezing the skeleton pack.

An interesting thing happened in the Stony Tomb. The sparkly chest dropped only a double-durability magic wrist blade and some arrows. Did Adriana just witnessed the rare set/unique chest drop? If so, she was really unlucky to get NoDrop on /p8 on the 3 consecutive drops after the initial failed one. And if so, what were the arrows doing in the chest? I can't explain it.

Itemwise, many other failed ones including katars and wrist blades, a set leather gloves and not much else (the gambles have been ok, though). Adriana checks Drognan wares each time she has the chance, as he often sells Deflecting shields and he's bound to dispense a Mechanic prefix between them. If Adriana can get that (as my characters often do), it will get two Elds for the fight with Duriel.

Adriana ended her session with half of Dry Hills cleared, the Cube safely in her stash and the DH waypoint marked.

And it's that time of the year when a table gets posted. Here it is. Good progress, guys!
Code: 
Alive characters:
Forum Name      Class       Char Name    LVL   ACT     WP             Version
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SunsetVista      Necro      Yredelemnul   34   A5      Harrogath         1.13
japanzaman       Barb       Babs          28   A3      Kurast Docks      1.13
jiansonz         Assassin   Helena        28   A3      Kurast Docks
felixbavaria    *Paladin    Incompetentus 26   A2      Arcane Sanctuary
epaminondas     *Assassin   Adriana       23   A2      Dry Hills         1.11
HanShotFirst    ***Sorc     Two           20   A2      Lut Gholein      
Dazliare        *Barb       Vladimir      15   A1      Outer Cloister
Southpaw8668    *Paladin    Lucious       12   A1      Outer Cloister 
xXxGrimmxXx     **Druid     Roland         1   A1      Rogue Enc         1.13d
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dead ones:
Forum Name      Class       Char Name    LVL   ACT     Place of Deeds  Version
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
xXxGrimmxXx     **Assassin  Noctyria       9   A1      Cave Lvl 1       1.13d
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Notes:
*  = this class has been randomly chosen
** = this class has been somewhat randomly chosen
*** = this character needed a random decision that it would not be random :)
 
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epaminondas said:
An interesting thing happened in the Stony Tomb. The sparkly chest dropped only a double-durability magic wrist blade and some arrows. Did Adriana just witnessed the rare set/unique chest drop? If so, she was really unlucky to get NoDrop on /p8 on the 3 consecutive drops after the initial failed one. And if so, what were the arrows doing in the chest? I can't explain it.
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You may have rolled desired quality of set item, and had a total of 6 no-drops among the 4+4 drop chances you had (the game looks at the last dropped item in the first cycle of 4, and if it is indeed the desired quality, the drop ends.) The arrows were probably in your main drop, but they can't become green...

Another option is that you rolled no desired quality, and got the failed set item with regular MF roll.

In either of these cases, it's unusal to not get a bunch of magical items, gold piles and potions as well.
 
I was under the impression that a normal roll (no desired quality) always ends up with at least the healing+mana pots, which were not present now, so a desired quality should have been rolled. It seems very unlucky to roll NoDrop that many times on p8 (single player, so p4 in NoDrop computation which resulted in 13 out of 55 chances for NoDrop for each pick, according to this). It's like rolling 4 on a 4-sided dice 6 times out of 8. Uh, now that I've said it, it doesn't seem *that* unlikely.

But what would I have done with a bunch of sets anyway :).
 
Act II has been at cleared at players 7!


I'd be much further along but I spent some serious time staff shopping. So what amazing staffs did I turn up? . . . well, um, er, uh, . . . actually nothing at all impressive considering I had a pretty good budget (285,000 at the start of Act II). I ended up settling on a staff with +1 to Teleport, +1 to Glacial Spike and two sockets . . . though I haven't found that Ral yet and supposing I did I'm not sure that this staff is really worthy . . . The other staff I purchased is a magic staff with +1 to Shiver Armor, +1 to Enchant, and +1 to Static Field which is pretty good though I think I prefer Frozen Armor to Shiver Armor and +1 to Shiver Armor sure doesn't last long. But ignoring those minor complaints and the feeling that I could've, should've, found something better, those staffs and the merc got things done.


The merc, and the true hero of Act II, was Hazade the combat merc who weilded a gambled poleaxe with 35% ED and then a Lochaber Axe with 80% ED once the Horadric Cube was recovered. The battle plan was simple and easy to remember. Two would freeze stuff with Glacial Spike and Hazade would shatter it. Sometimes things would get tricky and Two would need to teleport Hazade into position and freeze stuff with Glacial Spike before Hazade shattered it. So yeah, pretty advanced stuff. Horadrim Ancients did slow things down a bit in Tal Rasha's Tombs but Teleport, Glacial Spike, and Hazade got things done. Following the Horadrim Ancients, the final battle was no battle at all. Duriel got hit with Static Field and fell fast and hard.


Two was operating with 175 MF (when Hazade got the kill . . . which was pretty much every time). 175 MF was good enough for five set/uniques: Blood Crescent Scimitar (from The Sewers Level 3), Umbral Disc (from The Far Oasis), Civerb's Scepter (from a false tomb), Milabrega's Shield (from a false tomb), and Hsarus' Boots (from Tal Rasha's Tomb). None are likely to see use . . . In fact, other than the rings and amulet, I think that everything that I'm using is either shopped, gambled, or cubed . . . maybe things will change in Act III.


Hanshotfirst, Sorceress, Two, Level 28, Act III, Kurast Docks
 
@japanzaman Nice kicks, looks like your find item is paying off for you. Little late I know but been offline all day.

Lucious has made his way to the Inner Cloister and felt he needed to hire Oriana another cold arrow Rogue, since Klaudia seemed a little slow to start lobbing arrows. Maybe she was tired and needed some R&R back at camp. :cool:

I've found the Infernal Cranium cap, so I threw it on Oriana, since I wanted to keep my MF up as much as possible with my starter cap with a chipped and flawed topaz till I can find some more to put into a heavier helm.

I've recently found a heavier rare bow and armor for Oriana to use.

Switched to a socketed sabre with a chipped sapphire and emerald to approach Andy with. Received the highlighted rare amulet courtesy of The Smith, who hit me a little harder than I expected. Everything else is pretty much junk magic stuff.

I'll be trying to get into Act 2 tonight.

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Roland is now Lvl 9 and Blood Raven has been slain.

Playing on /p8 throughout his journey thus far, which resulted in my first unique drop in the Crypt, Felloak.

Not sure how i'm going to increase his survivability odds considering Druids don't really have support skills like Necros or Paladins. I may just avoid druid skills on items altogether and focus on making him a LLing Big-Hitter.

Stony Fields tomorrow after work!

2d0jr5i.png
 
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HanShotFirst said:
The battle plan was simple and easy to remember. Two would freeze stuff with Glacial Spike and Hazade would shatter it. Sometimes things would get tricky and Two would need to teleport Hazade into position and freeze stuff with Glacial Spike before Hazade shattered it. So yeah, pretty advanced stuff.
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This made me laugh. =)
Gameplay is about the same for me. Dim Vision or Amp, then make sure Zanarhi is killing them correctly.
Right now, Zanarhi is using a Brutal Partizan of Shock socketed with a jewel of freedom and a skull. Kill speed isn't too bad on /p8, as long as we advance slowly to avoid being overwhelmed. I'm still on the lookout for a better merc weapon though.

Dim Vision is so nice. It stops the imps from teleporting away, so my merc can dispatch them with ease. It also stops normal frenzytaurs from frenzying, but champion packs are still nasty. Zanarhi needed some purples to stay alive.

Finds so far are a Shael from Eyeback the Unleashed, a rare demonhide sash with resists, and Stormstrike. I found Ichorsting from the River of Flame, so those are my two ranged options right now.

Anya has been rescued. I decided to lower it to /p5 for the Frozen River to make the Abominables more manageable.
I bought a pair of poison dagger gloves from Anya, in case that ever becomes relevant. There used to be some kind of bug where you could get AR from attacking with the poison dagger skill even when not using a dagger. I have no idea if this still works or is worth doing. <-- Nope, that was pre-1.10 only.

Yredelemnul, lvl 40, Glacial Trail
 
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@SunsetVista Wow you are cruising, great work!
@xXxGrimmxXx Nice little club, those resists will come in handy with those darn beetles and Diablo later on. Is that thing worth uping, you think for better dmg?

Prior to proceeding further into the depths of the Catacombs I purchased a +3 Might Scepter from Akara, which definitely made Oriana a much better killing machine. She's doing higher damage then me ATM. Does this mean I'm now a merc's merc?

Andariel has fallen as did my rogue in the battle. Nothing worth keeping dropped.

Took the caravan, did some gambling in Act 2 and ended up with a nice pair of rare chain gloves and decent breast plate armor.

Forgot to mention earlier that the Countess dropped a Tal, Ral!!! El dropped in the sewers and Radament decided to drop a Eld, Tir. That's one of the first times I've seen him drop a rune let alone two. WooHoo! Have to look at the runeword list, maybe I can make something by now?

Can't wait to get the cube so I can start crafting savage polearms!

Edit**Yes, in fact with my current runes I am ready to make Steel. "What is the riddle of Steel." Conan the Barbarian. Love that movie!

Lucious, lvl 16, Vengence was bittersweet!
 
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@Southpaw8668 Honestly, i'm not sure. I've never seen an exceptional version of Felloak. I wouldn't mind upping it just for curiousity's sake, but I doubt i'll have a Sol or P Emerald before Act 3. Seems rather unlikely?
 
Babs has cleared Act III and IV and is currently sitting at lvl 34.

Quick question: can runewords be made from low quality items? For example, if I socket a low quality helmet with Larzuk could I make a runeword from the item?
 
japanzaman said:
Quick question: can runewords be made from low quality items? For example, if I socket a low quality helmet with Larzuk could I make a runeword from the item?
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Yes, runewords can be made in it.

Not 100% sure, but I think Larzuk socketing actually gets rid of the low quality thing. It won't reroll staffmods if it's such an item, though.
 
Thanks. I was thinking of putting Lore into a nice barb helmet I picked up, but then I realized that it gets 3 sockets instead of 2. Guess I'll just stuff a bunch of perfect topazes in it instead.
 
@xXxGrimmxXx Looks like you would be doing 16-43 upped with the ED bonus + fire damage in a cudgel, not including the added undead damage bonus. Meh, not so worth it I suppose and your class is only Fast with that weapon type. That is somewhat suprising, since druids start out with a club. :confused: Yes, I agree if I got my hands on a Sol, I would be looking for an Insight polearm or Lore helm for sure.
 
Adriana has set upon clearing the rest of the Dry Hills. Midway she discovered that she really doesn't do much hitting so a better merc would be one that tanks better. Hence a defiant one became the current merc. In the Lost City, the "ignore merc" bug hit and, although this has also advantages, the perspective of a mad Fangskin charging forced her to abort the session and restart. In the actual fight Adriana found the time to do her nails as there was nothing merc couldn't handle himself.

During the trips back and forth carrying loot she always checked the flails of Fara for Superior ones with %ED. Finally one presented itself and, eagerly, a Steel was spelled. Well, for 12% ED the trouble seems hardly noticeable: 1 enhanced by 12% still remains 1; the maximum damage increased by 2. But the awe inspired to monsters which confront a Steel with 32%ED totally makes it worth the hassle. As I was saying she doesn't hit much with it, though.

Good items have flown in this session. First, a set belt dropped in Far Oasis (+life and cold resist is always good when Duriel awaits) and then the Angelic amulet was found upon a monster in the Ancient Tunnels. That area always has good stuff for my characters. Now, Adriana only needs to find the armor, and 2 rings and she's set... Ok, that is not for the *immediate* future.
Other MF related finds were a Steelgoad in the Worm Hole and a failed morning star (among other failures). I wonder what jaw-dropping items will appear when the ilvl will be high enough... The sky is the limit.

No significant fights to recount, as Adriana really only accompanies the merc in his smashing, but I'm sure real challenges await. Probably most of Normal should be passable by merc alone, with or without skills, except for some oddities.

Level 25 now, circling the palace to find an entry.
 
Lucious started to step it up a lot after hiring Chalan (combat) to do the majority of the killing for a change. Of course the +3 might Scepter is still the obvious choice over another white scepter with +3 defiance I found in the travels. Starting to find several more gems and a couple low runes after kicking a few pots along the way.

Killed all the staff mobs pretty easy with Chalan touting a voulge with a chipped skull, flawed sapphire and ruby after swapping out from his previous +4 life leech one. After picking up the cube I was able to take two rolls at making a desirable Savage Polearm. First one came up as a Scythe w/ 78% ED and a Halberd w/ 75% ED and prevent monster heal (sweet).

We are ready to enter the Palace steps once we rest up a bit and throw back a few.

Lucious, lvl 19, Palace Steps
 
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@Daz: That's a sweet circlet!

@southpaw: nice Halberd, but know that PMH does not work with mercs

@epaminondas: I understand your woes with the rogue AI. In order for her to be effective, your whole gameplay needs to be focused on this. That's not for everyone (but I enjoy it a lot with my character in this tourney).
I wrote a guide for the rogue mercs (actually, an alternatve chapter of the merc FAQ) where I go into detail about character and merc movement - look here.





Another Ith dropped early in the jungle, completing Meghan's socketed bow. She's not too shabby with it, she can kill a regular Hulk with 4-6 shots and she was truly awesome against the flayer blowdarters and shamans. Slow meleers (like the aforementioned Hulks and Drowned Carcasses) are easy to handle. We just back away slowly and Meghan takes them out. Our biggest trouble is with fast meleers. Stormtree in particular was a pain. With only 10% lightning resist and 25% blocking (Milabrega's shield, which I can't keep myself from using - I long for Rhyme...), I had to be careful. Good thing my Flail has such a long range that I could swing a few times and get OW going before he was close enough to hit back.


[Highlight]Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold archer, level 30, reached Lower Kurast WP[/Highlight]
(Arachnid Lair, Swampy Pit and LK itself are still left to do)
 
Lucious done the deeds trying to meet Duriel head on with Holy Freeze +2 instead of the previous might tactics. He was able to purchase this new Scepter from Droghan. Chalan needed to be resurrected almost immediately, we went back into the tomb started duking it out with Duriel again and I hit the dang windows key. By the time I got back in I was near death and running from a certain death with Chalan already dead again. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

I'm going to start a Necromancer tonight, to hopefully enjoy this next go around a little better.
 
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