epaminondas
New member
My most unusual encounter was with a boss pack of suicide minions in Worldstone Keep. They all exploded before I could check the mods on the boss, but probably would have been very bad for my char to be nearby.
Skill-less tournament (3rd edition)
- Thread starter epaminondas
- Start date
HanShotFirst
Well-known member
NM Act II is complete!
I did a full clear of everything at players 7 except for the final battle against Duriel. Duriel got hit with the players 1 command allowing the mighty Level 60 Hazade to handle him/her/it? . . . with ease.
Hazade was using a Savage Partizan through the Palace when the slow killing speed finally became too much to handle and a change HAD to be made. One million in gambled gold, an Ort Rune, an Amn Rune, a Shael Rune, and a Perferct Sapphire later, and I had:
Imp Scratch
Partizan
'Shael'
Two-Hand Damage: 73 to 161
Durability: 37 of 65
Required Dexterity: 67
Required Strength: 113
Required Level: 29
Polearm Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x930b186f
+115% Enhanced Damage
+23 to Attack Rating
+7 poison damage over 3 seconds
4% Life stolen per hit
Required Level +5
20% Increased Attack Speed
Socketed (1: 1 used)
. . . a rather modest improvement . . .
Modest, but good enough that I was able to clear the rest of NM Act II without feeling the need to tap the alt key after every single kill looking for a socketable exceptional polearm that seemed nowhere to be found
. Then finally, a white Partizan (only the second so far) dropped in one of the false tombs and it cubed for five sockets resulting in:
Honor
Partizan
'AmnElIthTirSol'
Two-Hand Damage: 97 to 204
Durability: 33 of 65
Required Dexterity: 67
Required Strength: 113
Required Level: 27
Polearm Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0xe4c16b3b
+10 to Strength
+160% Enhanced Damage
+250 to Attack Rating
+9 to Minimum Damage
+9 to Maximum Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
Replenish Life +10
+1 to Light Radius
+1 to All Skill Levels
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
25% Deadly Strike
Socketed (5: 5 used)
. . . another rather modest improvement (but light-years ahead of the Savage Partizan he had been using not long before
).
I was operating with 223 MF and had numerous set/unique drops including: Cathan's Staff (from the Sewers Level 2), Sigon's Belt (from the Rocky Waste), Griswold's Edge Broad Sword (from the Rocky Waste), Angelic Ring (from the Halls of the Dead Level 1), Bloodletter Gladius (from the Halls of the Dead Level 2), Rockfleece Field Plate (from the Halls of the Dead Level 3), Sigon's Helm (from the Far Oasis), Cleglaw's Sword (from the Lost City), Chance Guard Chain Gloves (from the Ancient Tunnels), Blacktongue Bastard Sword (from the Ancient Tunnels), Cathan's Ring (from the Claw Viper Temple), Sigon's Gloves (from the Claw Viper Temple), Nokozan Amulet (from the Palace Cellar Level 1), Skull Splitter Military Pick (from the Palace Cellar Level 2), Sigon's Belt (from the Arcane Sanctuary), Rakescar War Axe (from a false tomb), Isenhart's Shield (from a false tomb), Bloodletter Gladius (from a false tomb), Hellcast Heavy Crossbow (from a false tomb), Steelclash Kite Shield (from Duriel), and Soulflay Claymore (from Duriel). Or to sum up . . . nothing immediately useful . . .
Hanshotfirst, Sorceress, Two, Level 60, Act III NM, Kurast Docks
I did a full clear of everything at players 7 except for the final battle against Duriel. Duriel got hit with the players 1 command allowing the mighty Level 60 Hazade to handle him/her/it? . . . with ease.
Hazade was using a Savage Partizan through the Palace when the slow killing speed finally became too much to handle and a change HAD to be made. One million in gambled gold, an Ort Rune, an Amn Rune, a Shael Rune, and a Perferct Sapphire later, and I had:
Imp Scratch
Partizan
'Shael'
Two-Hand Damage: 73 to 161
Durability: 37 of 65
Required Dexterity: 67
Required Strength: 113
Required Level: 29
Polearm Class - Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 60
Fingerprint: 0x930b186f
+115% Enhanced Damage
+23 to Attack Rating
+7 poison damage over 3 seconds
4% Life stolen per hit
Required Level +5
20% Increased Attack Speed
Socketed (1: 1 used)
. . . a rather modest improvement . . .
Modest, but good enough that I was able to clear the rest of NM Act II without feeling the need to tap the alt key after every single kill looking for a socketable exceptional polearm that seemed nowhere to be found
. Then finally, a white Partizan (only the second so far) dropped in one of the false tombs and it cubed for five sockets resulting in:Honor
Partizan
'AmnElIthTirSol'
Two-Hand Damage: 97 to 204
Durability: 33 of 65
Required Dexterity: 67
Required Strength: 113
Required Level: 27
Polearm Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 49
Fingerprint: 0xe4c16b3b
+10 to Strength
+160% Enhanced Damage
+250 to Attack Rating
+9 to Minimum Damage
+9 to Maximum Damage
7% Life stolen per hit
Replenish Life +10
+1 to Light Radius
+1 to All Skill Levels
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
25% Deadly Strike
Socketed (5: 5 used)
. . . another rather modest improvement (but light-years ahead of the Savage Partizan he had been using not long before
).I was operating with 223 MF and had numerous set/unique drops including: Cathan's Staff (from the Sewers Level 2), Sigon's Belt (from the Rocky Waste), Griswold's Edge Broad Sword (from the Rocky Waste), Angelic Ring (from the Halls of the Dead Level 1), Bloodletter Gladius (from the Halls of the Dead Level 2), Rockfleece Field Plate (from the Halls of the Dead Level 3), Sigon's Helm (from the Far Oasis), Cleglaw's Sword (from the Lost City), Chance Guard Chain Gloves (from the Ancient Tunnels), Blacktongue Bastard Sword (from the Ancient Tunnels), Cathan's Ring (from the Claw Viper Temple), Sigon's Gloves (from the Claw Viper Temple), Nokozan Amulet (from the Palace Cellar Level 1), Skull Splitter Military Pick (from the Palace Cellar Level 2), Sigon's Belt (from the Arcane Sanctuary), Rakescar War Axe (from a false tomb), Isenhart's Shield (from a false tomb), Bloodletter Gladius (from a false tomb), Hellcast Heavy Crossbow (from a false tomb), Steelclash Kite Shield (from Duriel), and Soulflay Claymore (from Duriel). Or to sum up . . . nothing immediately useful . . .
Hanshotfirst, Sorceress, Two, Level 60, Act III NM, Kurast Docks
View attachment 610
So I saved up about 1mil gold to gamble boots, and got these on my third gamble. Not sure what to gamble for now....maybe amulets?
So I saved up about 1mil gold to gamble boots, and got these on my third gamble. Not sure what to gamble for now....maybe amulets?
SunsetVista
New member
Some nice boots in this thread! It's also nice to see the different merc weapons being used.
@HanShotFirst - That is a neat shield, for sure. There's something awesome about good rares.
@Dazliare - amulets and rings are good when you've got some nice circlets already. I'm about to gamble some rings.
I've been cautious and so Act 4 hasn't been too much trouble.
/p5 outer steppes had leapers, doom knights, and stranglers. Found a new belt with more life, lit res, and fhr.
/p1 plains of despair had burning souls, flesh spawners, and stranglers. Thankfully most of the boss packs were flesh spawners rather than souls. Izual was killed with amp and thorns.
/p5 city of the damned had abyss knights, dark familiars, stranglers, and maw fiends. It was odd to see 4 monster types there in NM.
NM hellforge was Sol. /shrug
After looking up NM Diablo's defense stats (lvl 62, 1176 def), I decided on a melee crushing blow setup to take him out. This required returning to Normal Act 2 to shop a 3 socket flail from Fara. Thanks, Fara!
-----
Black
Superior Flail
ThulIoNef
One Hand Damage: 2 - 54
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Level: 35
Required Strength: 41
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0x644e0836
Item Level: 20
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
125% Enhanced Damage
+200 to Attack Rating
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
Knockback
+10 to Vitality
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
Increase Maximum Durability 13%
Level 4 Corpse Explosion (12/12 Charges)
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Io Rune
Socketed: Nef Rune
-----
With the extra AR from Hsarus's belt and boots, +decrep on my shield, and the resists on my amulet and circlet, I was well prepared for Diablo. The fight went smoothly. I could sense Diablo's frustration at not being able to kill us at short range with the lightning hose in this version. Several times he tried to firestorm Waheed, but I was ready with the purple pots. He dropped 4 useless rares and Yredelemnul made it to lvl 65.
Yredelemnul the Crusher, and Waheed the Mighty, lvl 65, NM Harrogath
I think many guest monsters will get Dim Vision'd next!
@HanShotFirst - That is a neat shield, for sure. There's something awesome about good rares.
@Dazliare - amulets and rings are good when you've got some nice circlets already. I'm about to gamble some rings.
I've been cautious and so Act 4 hasn't been too much trouble.
/p5 outer steppes had leapers, doom knights, and stranglers. Found a new belt with more life, lit res, and fhr.
/p1 plains of despair had burning souls, flesh spawners, and stranglers. Thankfully most of the boss packs were flesh spawners rather than souls. Izual was killed with amp and thorns.
/p5 city of the damned had abyss knights, dark familiars, stranglers, and maw fiends. It was odd to see 4 monster types there in NM.
NM hellforge was Sol. /shrug
After looking up NM Diablo's defense stats (lvl 62, 1176 def), I decided on a melee crushing blow setup to take him out. This required returning to Normal Act 2 to shop a 3 socket flail from Fara. Thanks, Fara!
-----
Black
Superior Flail
ThulIoNef
One Hand Damage: 2 - 54
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Level: 35
Required Strength: 41
Required Dexterity: 35
Fingerprint: 0x644e0836
Item Level: 20
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
125% Enhanced Damage
+200 to Attack Rating
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
Knockback
+10 to Vitality
Magic Damage Reduced by 2
Increase Maximum Durability 13%
Level 4 Corpse Explosion (12/12 Charges)
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Io Rune
Socketed: Nef Rune
-----
With the extra AR from Hsarus's belt and boots, +decrep on my shield, and the resists on my amulet and circlet, I was well prepared for Diablo. The fight went smoothly. I could sense Diablo's frustration at not being able to kill us at short range with the lightning hose in this version. Several times he tried to firestorm Waheed, but I was ready with the purple pots. He dropped 4 useless rares and Yredelemnul made it to lvl 65.
Yredelemnul the Crusher, and Waheed the Mighty, lvl 65, NM Harrogath
I think many guest monsters will get Dim Vision'd next!
I'm a barbarian, so after I got 2 circlets of luck, I haven't found a huge need to gamble for more circlets. Getting all res might be helpful, but in general, I think I'm going to end up with some sort of barbarian helmet runeword
jiansonz
New member
It's the Fiend cage. There is nearly always a "cage" (barred enclosed area with a small entrance) with three Maw Fiends in it in City of the Damned. Very rarely is it not there, or there are two of them. Maw Fiends can not spawn as random monsters in the City (the regurgitator monster type that can spawn is the Corpse Spitter)
No resist charms in the cow level, but my prayers were answered early in the next act, where I found this:
Amber Grand Charm of Life
+19 to Life
Lightning Resist +27%
and this:
Coral Grand Charm
Lightning Resist +24%
So lightning resist is more decent now, but fire resist is...2
As I explained earlier, I have not gambled any claws yet because I still try to improve my MF jewelry. Getting closer now, since I have gambled a Fortune (25) ring and cubed a Luck (34) amulet. It would have been really nice to have CoS or Death Sentry against those pesky Shamans. As long as I can get Meghan alone with one, it's very easy pickings for her, but getting there can be hard, with those packs in dead-end rooms, etc. Some warriors shatter from her arrows, but I need to lure away, re-kill and generally work a lot against them. I can't easily just walk up and kill the shaman myself either (like I could in Normal) because their firebolts hurt and getting surrounded by warriors is dangerous. My tactics for the UGP level 2 was this:
Since Meghan couldn't move at all, she behaved well and just kept firing. I just kept tanking until they were all shattered. Good thing I did, because there was a nasty archer pack (Extra Strong + CE) close by. Would have been near impossible to win the fight if they had shown up while we were still fighting Fallen.
Griswold was LE, and like always (and also the case for Blood Raven and Radament) had an obscene amount of life. I had no plans to tank him, so I led him to the house ruin up-right, where we led him laps around it. With him chilled, Meghan could get many shots fired between each move. But it was tedious, and Helena decided to do her best Imoen (from Baldur's Gate) impression:
Some of the areas today (Dark Wood, UGP, Hole, Great Marsh, several of the Tower Cellars floors) were quite a struggle. Some sick bosspacks, and so many! Felt like I held our progress together with duct tape and lots of smoke and mirrors.
Recent finds:
Another four Shael runes
2s Blade Talons
Infernostride
Skull Splitter
[Highlight]Destroyer Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 50, NM Tamoe Highlands next.[/Highlight]
SunsetVista
New member
Thanks for this clarification! That's exactly what it was! I love how I think I've played this game a fair bit and then there's still plenty I don't know. =)
felixbavaria1
New member
jiansonz
New member
Indeed I can, but for a claw to support staffmods, it must be a Hand Scythe or higher. Those haven't started to drop yet. It's getting close - I've seen a few Fascias. That's why I mention gambling. With a lucky roll, I could get the 'upgrade to exceptional' thing at my current clvl. Anyway, if I make it to the next act, I can shop Fara for Hand Scythes.
Another way would be to upgrade and then reroll a rare Cestus+, but I am far from having six perfect skulls.
Last edited:
SunsetVista
New member
Yredelemnul has rescued Anya again. It's been somewhat interesting picking the right curse for each combination of guest monsters and there have been some tough spots.
In the Bloody Foothills we faced imps and quill rats, a standard dim vision scenario. Frigid Highlands had vile archers; Arreat Plateau had carvers. More dim vision with some CE. Amp works well on Crush Beasts. In Abaddon there were blood stars everywhere and it was tricky to get the succubi to fly over land instead of lava. Acheron had imps, a few frenzytaurs (no bosses) and maw fiends. After I decrep or amp maw fiends I shoot them with Edge a few times to stop their regen since they have so many hitpoints.
I should have entered Crystalline Passage at /p1. Cold skelly mages, yetis, and ice beasts swarmed us. Waheed was nearly slain many times and many potions were used, but a combination of dim vision, decrep, and terror curses saved us. It was ugly. When Waheed gets chilled, things get dangerous.
I found the waypoint in Crystalline Passage and took a break. When I came back, the monster roll was leapers, ghosts, and cold archers. Dim Vision on leapers and archers, amp on ghosts. I have to be sure that I aim at the right spot to get the right curses on the right monsters.
There was a cursed, fanaticism ghost pack that killed Waheed very quickly. After ressing him, I used terror to scare away the minions so we could kill the boss alone and get rid of that fanaticism aura.
Frozen River was started at /p1 in case there were wisps. There were sirens, succubi, and lancers. The welcoming party consisted of a lightning enchanted siren pack. Those blood stars really hurt, especially when Waheed was amped. I kept it at /p1 to rescue Anya. The reward she gave me was junk, but I forgive her. It's all about the resist scroll anyway.
I'm still so reliant on the merc that even though this is still Nightmare, it reminds me of Hell.
Yredelemnul, staffmod mojomancer, and Waheed, lvl 68, NM Crystalline Passage
In the Bloody Foothills we faced imps and quill rats, a standard dim vision scenario. Frigid Highlands had vile archers; Arreat Plateau had carvers. More dim vision with some CE. Amp works well on Crush Beasts. In Abaddon there were blood stars everywhere and it was tricky to get the succubi to fly over land instead of lava. Acheron had imps, a few frenzytaurs (no bosses) and maw fiends. After I decrep or amp maw fiends I shoot them with Edge a few times to stop their regen since they have so many hitpoints.
I should have entered Crystalline Passage at /p1. Cold skelly mages, yetis, and ice beasts swarmed us. Waheed was nearly slain many times and many potions were used, but a combination of dim vision, decrep, and terror curses saved us. It was ugly. When Waheed gets chilled, things get dangerous.
I found the waypoint in Crystalline Passage and took a break. When I came back, the monster roll was leapers, ghosts, and cold archers. Dim Vision on leapers and archers, amp on ghosts. I have to be sure that I aim at the right spot to get the right curses on the right monsters.
There was a cursed, fanaticism ghost pack that killed Waheed very quickly. After ressing him, I used terror to scare away the minions so we could kill the boss alone and get rid of that fanaticism aura.
Frozen River was started at /p1 in case there were wisps. There were sirens, succubi, and lancers. The welcoming party consisted of a lightning enchanted siren pack. Those blood stars really hurt, especially when Waheed was amped. I kept it at /p1 to rescue Anya. The reward she gave me was junk, but I forgive her. It's all about the resist scroll anyway.
I'm still so reliant on the merc that even though this is still Nightmare, it reminds me of Hell.
Yredelemnul, staffmod mojomancer, and Waheed, lvl 68, NM Crystalline Passage
felixbavaria1
New member
@SunsetVista Nice going! You seem to be using the same skills that I'm using, except that I'm playing a Paladin, and I can zeal-slap with CB if needed. Terror on the minions followed by DV on the "boss" is a good combo if facing reviving monsters (Shamen, Mummies). I think I couldn't have finished the Halls of the Dead without it, as there was a room with as many as 7 Greater Mummies in and near it.
@jiansonz: Bugger, I think I've seen quite a few blue Hand Scythes in NM Act I.
@jiansonz: Bugger, I think I've seen quite a few blue Hand Scythes in NM Act I.
epaminondas
New member
@felixbavaria : How do you use dim vision and terror at the same time? Do you carry in inventory the extra wand? I'm also relying much on necro curses, in such a way that I feel like playing a junior necro . But I can only afford a curse at a time. Other option is going with wands on each switch, I guess.
Adriana has moved on in Act V Normal. Another gem shrine was missed in Frigid Highlands
. The thing resembled a rock and although I saw on the map that there is a shrine nearby, commotion around monsters got me clicking on the rock and puff, a chipped amethyst from thin air. It would have been Adriana's second PTopaz and instant installment of the Artisan's Great Helm which we've already shopped. Bummer.
Shopped some more charged wands (confusion, attract) which are kept in stash for options. For instance in cave areas when facing frozen stuff and ranged beasts it helps to attract attention on some other thing that merc. Being chilled and the target makes him vulnerable despite potion use. Other situations are handled using weakens as the dmg reduction makes the balance between merc's regeneration + potions and damage received to favor healing. Nearly spent an entire wand, but already have further supplies. Drops have been interesting:kite shield, long battle bow (I'm NOT getting a cold rogue merc; not yet, anyway), small shield, kris (Adriana's first source of CBF; saw use against Nihlathak), plated belt, spiked shield (right next to it lay a failed bone shield). No godly runes were found, highest was another Ort. A rare war javelin with ctc Amp and replenishing might also see some use. Also Adriana's been lucky with resist grand charms: she found another one with good bonus to FR and +6 to dex. As FR is maxed, it got stashed. Speaking of resists, the belt received a new upgrade from Larzuk. Now LR is close to max and a good bonus to life is also present on that belt. It can and will be upgraded with a rare/crafted one at some point, though. We also stashed a number of combinations of different resists on belts, to have more setup options in Nightmare.
Continued to cube for a partizan with no success. In turn, a bill dropped, but it had one socket. Anya's reward was unmentionable.
Fights were ok, except for frozen terrors grouped with rangers which took some planning. Nihlathak needed to be chased half a level and poked to death with The Jade Tan Do. It took a while, and Adriana was careful to step around the corpses littering the floor while running after him. He dropped a cruel dmg (219%) throwing axe! Didn't know cruel is available that soon. Or maybe there were combined bonuses from different dmg classes...Hmm.
We'll end the report by mentioning another million put aside in ATMA's bank (and another one is in ingame stash). Level 44 and preparing for the attack of Frozen Tundra.
. But I can only afford a curse at a time. Other option is going with wands on each switch, I guess.Adriana has moved on in Act V Normal. Another gem shrine was missed in Frigid Highlands
. The thing resembled a rock and although I saw on the map that there is a shrine nearby, commotion around monsters got me clicking on the rock and puff, a chipped amethyst from thin air. It would have been Adriana's second PTopaz and instant installment of the Artisan's Great Helm which we've already shopped. Bummer.Shopped some more charged wands (confusion, attract) which are kept in stash for options. For instance in cave areas when facing frozen stuff and ranged beasts it helps to attract attention on some other thing that merc. Being chilled and the target makes him vulnerable despite potion use. Other situations are handled using weakens as the dmg reduction makes the balance between merc's regeneration + potions and damage received to favor healing. Nearly spent an entire wand, but already have further supplies. Drops have been interesting:kite shield, long battle bow (I'm NOT getting a cold rogue merc
; not yet, anyway), small shield, kris (Adriana's first source of CBF; saw use against Nihlathak), plated belt, spiked shield (right next to it lay a failed bone shield). No godly runes were found, highest was another Ort. A rare war javelin with ctc Amp and replenishing might also see some use. Also Adriana's been lucky with resist grand charms: she found another one with good bonus to FR and +6 to dex. As FR is maxed, it got stashed. Speaking of resists, the belt received a new upgrade from Larzuk. Now LR is close to max and a good bonus to life is also present on that belt. It can and will be upgraded with a rare/crafted one at some point, though. We also stashed a number of combinations of different resists on belts, to have more setup options in Nightmare. Continued to cube for a partizan with no success. In turn, a bill dropped, but it had one socket
. Anya's reward was unmentionable.Fights were ok, except for frozen terrors grouped with rangers which took some planning. Nihlathak needed to be chased half a level and poked to death with The Jade Tan Do. It took a while, and Adriana was careful to step around the corpses littering the floor while running after him. He dropped a cruel dmg (219%) throwing axe! Didn't know cruel is available that soon. Or maybe there were combined bonuses from different dmg classes...Hmm.
We'll end the report by mentioning another million put aside in ATMA's bank (and another one is in ingame stash). Level 44 and preparing for the attack of Frozen Tundra.
Code:
Alive characters:
Forum Name Class Char Name LVL ACT WP Version
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SunsetVista Necro Yredelemnul 68 A5(N) Crystalline Psg 1.13
HanShotFirst ***Sorc Two 60 A3(N) Kurast Docks
japanzaman Barb Babs 53 A2(N) Lut Gholein 1.13
felixbavaria *Paladin Incompetentus 51 A1(N) Inner Cloister 1.13d
jiansonz Assassin Helena 50 A1(N) Black Marsh
epaminondas *Assassin Adriana 44 A5 Glacial Trail 1.11
Dazliare *Barb Vladimir 40 A5 ?
Sput Sorc Skilllass 30 A3 Flayer Jungle
Southpaw8668 Necro Goulash 14 A1 Black Marsh 1.13
imakeigloospat Druid Glenn 1 A1 Rogue Enc 1.13d
xXxGrimmxXx Amazon WaffleStrike 1 A1 Rogue Enc 1.13d
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dead ones:
Forum Name Class Char Name LVL ACT Place of Deeds Version
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Southpaw8668 *Paladin Lucious >19 A2 Duriel 1.13
xXxGrimmxXx **Druid Roland >=17 A1 Monastery 1.13d
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 :)jiansonz
New member
Highlands was easy - everything but some fallen villages were ranged, which suits us fine.
Pit was worse (of course) but not too bad. I had a great spot where I could lure rogue bosspacks, TP out and get them stuck on terrain. I took level 2 very very slowly, making sure to shatter as many Devilkin as I could before moving further inside. I had en extra TP up in the far right, in case things would turn ugly. An LE rogue boss made it interesting. Those are so much less scary when chilled. Meghan had to do a bit of tanking vs this boss - thanks to her bow, she has 75% resist so that's fine.
Smith had MIGHT(!), or at least I thought so. Looking at this pic afterwards
I understood that he must have picked up the Might from a nearby shaman boss. So I probably could have tanked him, but why take chances...
Jail level 1 was all-melee, the hardest possible combo for us, but it was actually level 3 that provided the hardest fight. Champion Dark Ones (with the horde that accompanies those) before I had any doorway secured. Just a large room to sometimes run around in, sometimes tank and drink many potions. It was a mess.
Fouldog's pack was hard for Meghan to "tank" (eat the shots and fight back). She took down a 'minion double' of them twice but that required some potions. For the big guy, Helena assisted, playing Annoying Target with him:
(yeah, a little bleeding was happening too)
Gambled a 17% Fortune ring. Of course I want one in the upper half of the range (21+) so I gambled a few more this session. But that must be put on hold now, because Meghan desperately needs a better bow if the next act is going to be bearable to play. Plus I may need to pay some substantial cash for staffmodded claws. I will also buy cheap ones to reroll with chippies, but that method can't give me Death Sentry (ilvl needs to be 37+ for that, and chippie rerolling sets ilvl to 25).
Recent finds:
Bloodrise
Small charm with cold damage and 4% cold resist
Dol rune
and I completed my 3x PTopaz Artisan's Great Helm of Remedy
[Highlight]Destroyer Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 51, NM Catacombs next[/Highlight]
(and btw, I play v1.13)
Pit was worse (of course) but not too bad. I had a great spot where I could lure rogue bosspacks, TP out and get them stuck on terrain. I took level 2 very very slowly, making sure to shatter as many Devilkin as I could before moving further inside. I had en extra TP up in the far right, in case things would turn ugly. An LE rogue boss made it interesting. Those are so much less scary when chilled. Meghan had to do a bit of tanking vs this boss - thanks to her bow, she has 75% resist so that's fine.
Smith had MIGHT(!), or at least I thought so. Looking at this pic afterwards
I understood that he must have picked up the Might from a nearby shaman boss. So I probably could have tanked him, but why take chances...
Jail level 1 was all-melee, the hardest possible combo for us, but it was actually level 3 that provided the hardest fight. Champion Dark Ones (with the horde that accompanies those) before I had any doorway secured. Just a large room to sometimes run around in, sometimes tank and drink many potions. It was a mess.
Fouldog's pack was hard for Meghan to "tank" (eat the shots and fight back). She took down a 'minion double' of them twice but that required some potions. For the big guy, Helena assisted, playing Annoying Target with him:
(yeah, a little bleeding was happening too)
Gambled a 17% Fortune ring. Of course I want one in the upper half of the range (21+) so I gambled a few more this session. But that must be put on hold now, because Meghan desperately needs a better bow if the next act is going to be bearable to play. Plus I may need to pay some substantial cash for staffmodded claws. I will also buy cheap ones to reroll with chippies, but that method can't give me Death Sentry (ilvl needs to be 37+ for that, and chippie rerolling sets ilvl to 25).
Recent finds:
Bloodrise
Small charm with cold damage and 4% cold resist
Dol rune
and I completed my 3x PTopaz Artisan's Great Helm of Remedy
[Highlight]Destroyer Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 51, NM Catacombs next[/Highlight]
(and btw, I play v1.13)
SunsetVista
New member
HanShotFirst
Well-known member
NM Act III is complete!
I did a full clear at players 7 except for the Durance of Hate Level 3 which was done at players 3. The Durance of Hate Level 3 was done at players 3 mostly because by the time I cleared the enormous Durance of Hate Level 2 it was past my bedtime and I didn't want to get into a really protracted battle with Mephisto
. The plan worked, and at players 3 Mephisto was pretty easy for Hazade to handle (though an upgrade from his Honor Partizan appeared as though it may soon become necessary). Still, most of NM Act III was pretty easy and there were a few times when I had to double check that I had indeed set players to 7.
The biggest problem areas were the Kurast Causeway and Travincal due to Heirophants. Heirophants hadn't spawned in the Kurast Bazaar or Upper Kurast but then they appeared in masse. Fortunately their underlings could still be frozen so dismantling the packs was a simple matter of leading the underlings off, freezing them so they couldn't retreat for healing, and then returning for the Heirophants with some teleporting and multi target Glacial Spike spamming. Nothing fancy . . . which would pretty much sum up all my tactics.
I'm still teleporting for positioning, using Glacial Spike for crowd control, and increasingly using doorways, bridges, and any other choke points to keep Hazade from getting overwhelmed. Static Field gets used only when absolutely necessary as it is on a staff on switch which causes most of my resistances (from my shield) and some life and mana (from my orb) to go bye-bye. I'm really hoping for an orb with Static Field and Frozen Armor so using skills on switch isn't so dangerous but as time goes on it's looking like I might need to settle for one skill or the other because the danger of switching to a staff with both is becoming too great.
As the end of nightmare approaches I've also been mindful of the impending need to replace my topaz stuffed armor and helm. So before that happens, I decided to double down on MF while I still can. It really hurt, but I used one of my four Perfect Topazes to socket a Gothic Plate (thank goodness it got four). I then stuffed the remaining Perfect Topazes into the Gothic Plate for a pretty good (and soon to be better) improvement over my three Topaz Breast Plate (of laziness / hoarding for the future). So for now, I'm operating with 227 MF. Resulting set/unique drops were not immediately useful and included: Angelic Ring (from the Spider Cavern), Skin of the Flayed One Demonhide Armor (from the Great Marsh), Griswold's Edge Broad Sword (from the Great Marsh), Tancred's Amulet (from the Flayer Jungle), Coif of Glory Helm (from the Flayer Dungeon Level 1), Silks of the Victor Ancient Armor (from Upper Kurast), Arcanna's Staff (from Upper Kurast), Arctic Gloves (from Upper Kurast), Treads of Cthon Chain Boots (from the Sewers), Crushflange Mace (from the Sewers), Bloodletter Gladius (from the Ruined Fane), Civerb's Shield (from Travincal), Lance of Yaggai Spetum (from Travincal), Sigon's Gloves (from Travincal), Venom Ward Breast Plate (from the Durance of Hate Level 1), Isenhart's Sword (from the Durance of Hate Level 2), and the Wall of the Eyeless Bone Shield (from Mephisto). I also came across my first rare circlet and it turned out to be good enough to go right onto Hazade:
Dire Brow
Circlet
Defense: 39
Durability: 21 of 35
Required Level: 35
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 55
Fingerprint: 0x9a867b33
+12 to Strength
+9 to Life
+28% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +26%
Lightning Resist +16%
Cold Resist +16%
Poison Resist +16%
6% Life stolen per hit
I'd been thinking that a Guillaume's would really hit the spot but I guess the circlet will work for now . . . and who knows, maybe a Guillaume's will drop in NM Act IV .
Hanshotfirst, Sorceress, Two, Level 64, Act IV NM, Pandemonium Fortress
@jiansonz - Great updates, tactics, and patience! It's always fun to read your posts!
I did a full clear at players 7 except for the Durance of Hate Level 3 which was done at players 3. The Durance of Hate Level 3 was done at players 3 mostly because by the time I cleared the enormous Durance of Hate Level 2 it was past my bedtime and I didn't want to get into a really protracted battle with Mephisto
. The plan worked, and at players 3 Mephisto was pretty easy for Hazade to handle (though an upgrade from his Honor Partizan appeared as though it may soon become necessary). Still, most of NM Act III was pretty easy and there were a few times when I had to double check that I had indeed set players to 7. The biggest problem areas were the Kurast Causeway and Travincal due to Heirophants. Heirophants hadn't spawned in the Kurast Bazaar or Upper Kurast but then they appeared in masse. Fortunately their underlings could still be frozen so dismantling the packs was a simple matter of leading the underlings off, freezing them so they couldn't retreat for healing, and then returning for the Heirophants with some teleporting and multi target Glacial Spike spamming. Nothing fancy . . . which would pretty much sum up all my tactics.
I'm still teleporting for positioning, using Glacial Spike for crowd control, and increasingly using doorways, bridges, and any other choke points to keep Hazade from getting overwhelmed. Static Field gets used only when absolutely necessary as it is on a staff on switch which causes most of my resistances (from my shield) and some life and mana (from my orb) to go bye-bye. I'm really hoping for an orb with Static Field and Frozen Armor so using skills on switch isn't so dangerous but as time goes on it's looking like I might need to settle for one skill or the other because the danger of switching to a staff with both is becoming too great.
As the end of nightmare approaches I've also been mindful of the impending need to replace my topaz stuffed armor and helm. So before that happens, I decided to double down on MF while I still can. It really hurt, but I used one of my four Perfect Topazes to socket a Gothic Plate (thank goodness it got four). I then stuffed the remaining Perfect Topazes into the Gothic Plate for a pretty good (and soon to be better) improvement over my three Topaz Breast Plate (of laziness / hoarding for the future). So for now, I'm operating with 227 MF. Resulting set/unique drops were not immediately useful and included: Angelic Ring (from the Spider Cavern), Skin of the Flayed One Demonhide Armor (from the Great Marsh), Griswold's Edge Broad Sword (from the Great Marsh), Tancred's Amulet (from the Flayer Jungle), Coif of Glory Helm (from the Flayer Dungeon Level 1), Silks of the Victor Ancient Armor (from Upper Kurast), Arcanna's Staff (from Upper Kurast), Arctic Gloves (from Upper Kurast), Treads of Cthon Chain Boots (from the Sewers), Crushflange Mace (from the Sewers), Bloodletter Gladius (from the Ruined Fane), Civerb's Shield (from Travincal), Lance of Yaggai Spetum (from Travincal), Sigon's Gloves (from Travincal), Venom Ward Breast Plate (from the Durance of Hate Level 1), Isenhart's Sword (from the Durance of Hate Level 2), and the Wall of the Eyeless Bone Shield (from Mephisto). I also came across my first rare circlet and it turned out to be good enough to go right onto Hazade:
Dire Brow
Circlet
Defense: 39
Durability: 21 of 35
Required Level: 35
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 55
Fingerprint: 0x9a867b33
+12 to Strength
+9 to Life
+28% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +26%
Lightning Resist +16%
Cold Resist +16%
Poison Resist +16%
6% Life stolen per hit
I'd been thinking that a Guillaume's would really hit the spot but I guess the circlet will work for now . . . and who knows, maybe a Guillaume's will drop in NM Act IV
.Hanshotfirst, Sorceress, Two, Level 64, Act IV NM, Pandemonium Fortress
@jiansonz - Great updates, tactics, and patience! It's always fun to read your posts!
SunsetVista
New member
@HanShotFirst - that's a sweet circlet! grats on NM meph. Looks like you will catch up or pass me soon! /worried =)
felixbavaria1
New member
I have a Wand with Terror and a ring with Dim Vision charges that gets swapped for Nagelring in case I'm playing in an archer-infested area. I also have a wand with DV, which I put on switch in case that there are only ranged enemies (in this case, I can have more MF with Nagelring).
I'm usually too lazy to swap gear in the mid of battle. I do have a Staff with Teleport charges in the stash, and used to have a Malice Scepter in the stash for PMH, but now I have a Blood Belt which usually does the trick with OW ...
japanzaman
New member
Babs is currently at lvl 55 and just about ready to go further into the Palace Cellar. I've been alternating doing things at P8 and P1 depending on the enemies and level. Anything with Horadrim ancients gets a P1, and everything else is P8. No real challenges, but the P8 parts go pretty slow. Without Amp or Decrepify, I'm fighting a pretty big uphill battle in this tourney I realize. Probably can't compete unless I get really lucky.
That, or some untimely deaths to my competitors. (no, no, I would never want that to happen)
That, or some untimely deaths to my competitors. (no, no, I would never want that to happen
)
jiansonz
New member
HanShotFirst, that's a great merc circlet. 
As you have reached areas where everything that drops is ilvl 37+, dropped orbs can no longer have level 6 (or level 1) skills as staffmods. Each and every +skill will have 50% chance to be a level 24 skill, 20% to be a level 30 skill, 20% level 18 and 10% level 12.
You can get +Static by rerolling with chipped/normal/flawless gems. Ilvl 25 or 30 means those have base tier of level 18 skill, so there is 10% chance that a +skill will be a level 6 skill there. 'Normalizing' low quality orbs will make their ilvl=1, which means 80% chance that a skill is a level 1 skill and 20% that it's a level 6 skill. So greater chance on those, but you get only one shot at each (I hope you saved some Eld runes...).
As you have reached areas where everything that drops is ilvl 37+, dropped orbs can no longer have level 6 (or level 1) skills as staffmods. Each and every +skill will have 50% chance to be a level 24 skill, 20% to be a level 30 skill, 20% level 18 and 10% level 12.
You can get +Static by rerolling with chipped/normal/flawless gems. Ilvl 25 or 30 means those have base tier of level 18 skill, so there is 10% chance that a +skill will be a level 6 skill there. 'Normalizing' low quality orbs will make their ilvl=1, which means 80% chance that a skill is a level 1 skill and 20% that it's a level 6 skill. So greater chance on those, but you get only one shot at each (I hope you saved some Eld runes...).
