SunsetVista
New member
@HanShotFirst - that was an amazing read. And here I thought I could stay awhile and listen. Nope. Gotta outrun death. /worried
Skill-less tournament (3rd edition)
- Thread starter epaminondas
- Start date
SunsetVista
New member
Collecting Khalim's relics is going well - we have an eye, a heart, and a brain (I should hope so).
Things are going smoothly, for the most part. AT was not a problem, but there were two nasty archer packs in the Pit. Right at the entrance, a fanaticism pack, and then a cursed pack in Pit 2. Their natural added cold damage was ugly and Waheed needed lots of purples.
I shopped a teleport staff from Normal Ormus. I cube-socketed my 2 white cryptic axes. One got 1 socket, the other got 3. Oh well.
I worried about wisps in the Great Marsh, so I used a Hel rune to remove the topazes from my armor. I added Ral, Ort, and Thul runes instead, and equipped the Dwarf Star. There were no wisps; instead there were frogs, bramble hulks, and many flayers. Flayer Dungeon 1 had dolls and dark shapes, so that was exciting.
The second temple had the tome, and a physical immune spider magus boss stair trap. I used Terror to move the monsters away and then ran into one of the side rooms and put up a tp. We had to approach from either the stairs or the tp depending on where the mob was, and had to re-enter many times. Compared to that, Blessed Aim Sarina was not a problem.
There were feeders, dolls and horadrim ancients in the Sewers. We also cleared Arachnid Lair. I actually got some use out of a skill shrine in there - it increased the range on my CE and let me blow up all the maggots faster. I'm not going in the Swampy Pit.
Finds - M'avina's Embrace in AT, cubed amulet of teleportation, white Thresher and Laying of Hands from Flayer Dungeon, Lum rune in Kurast Bazaar, Herald of Zakarum(!) from a rack in Upper Kurast.
Yredelemnul, staffmod mojomancer, and Waheed, brave minion, lvl 81, Hell Upper Kurast
Trav next
Things are going smoothly, for the most part. AT was not a problem, but there were two nasty archer packs in the Pit. Right at the entrance, a fanaticism pack, and then a cursed pack in Pit 2. Their natural added cold damage was ugly and Waheed needed lots of purples.
I shopped a teleport staff from Normal Ormus. I cube-socketed my 2 white cryptic axes. One got 1 socket, the other got 3. Oh well.
I worried about wisps in the Great Marsh, so I used a Hel rune to remove the topazes from my armor. I added Ral, Ort, and Thul runes instead, and equipped the Dwarf Star. There were no wisps; instead there were frogs, bramble hulks, and many flayers. Flayer Dungeon 1 had dolls and dark shapes, so that was exciting.
The second temple had the tome, and a physical immune spider magus boss stair trap. I used Terror to move the monsters away and then ran into one of the side rooms and put up a tp. We had to approach from either the stairs or the tp depending on where the mob was, and had to re-enter many times. Compared to that, Blessed Aim Sarina was not a problem.
There were feeders, dolls and horadrim ancients in the Sewers. We also cleared Arachnid Lair. I actually got some use out of a skill shrine in there - it increased the range on my CE and let me blow up all the maggots faster. I'm not going in the Swampy Pit.
Finds - M'avina's Embrace in AT, cubed amulet of teleportation, white Thresher and Laying of Hands from Flayer Dungeon, Lum rune in Kurast Bazaar, Herald of Zakarum(!) from a rack in Upper Kurast.
Yredelemnul, staffmod mojomancer, and Waheed, brave minion, lvl 81, Hell Upper Kurast
Trav next
jiansonz
New member
An appropriate place for it, I think. Some old 'hero' forgot it there when the fights broke out against the corrupted zealots.
Maybe they could have won if it had not been forgotten...
Wuss.
Then again, you did go into Disused Fane and Ruined Temple, which are far more dangerous when it comes to stairs traps. In Swampy Pit, you always have some initial space to work with.
SunsetVista
New member
Wuss.
Then again, you did go into Disused Fane and Ruined Temple, which are far more dangerous when it comes to stairs traps. In Swampy Pit, you always have some initial space to work with.
I also went into the Forgotten Reliquary and dim vision'd some night lords for fun and profit. There was an intense beetle stair trap in the Forgotten Temple that I, uh, wussed out on. It was the closest NDE yet. I think I'll, uh, save the causeway temples for later. /coward.
The Swampy Pit just really scares me. The noises that the things make down there, and the idea of all that swampy tar dripping down the walls... the atmospherics get me there like nowhere else in the game (or in very many other games). And this is the farthest I have ever made it in hardcore. So I don't want to die there. My loss on all that xp, I guess.
Edit: I just read on the wiki that the tome is always in the Ruined Temple in Kurast Bazaar. I thought they were random?
HanShotFirst
Well-known member
Surely you jest. You mean to tell me I can't catch a guy who doesn't know where he's going!?
@jiansonz - Here's the readouts on Hazade's gear:
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
Duriel's Shell
Cuirass
Defense: 598
Durability: 29 of 150
Required Strength: 65
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0xfc47661e
+15 to Strength
+195% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +20%
Lightning Resist +20%
Cold Resist +50%
Poison Resist +20%
+100 Maximum Durability
Cannot Be Frozen
+1 to Defense (Based on Character Level)
+1 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Boneflesh
Plate Mail
Defense: 237
Durability: 46 of 60
Required Strength: 65
Required Level: 26
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 36
Fingerprint: 0x426bae16
+103% Enhanced Defense
+35 to Attack Rating
5% Life stolen per hit
25% Chance of Open Wound
Insight
Colossus Voulge
'RalTirTalSol'
Two-Hand Damage: 92 to 827
Durability: 26 of 26
Required Dexterity: 45
Required Strength: 200
Required Level: 48
Polearm Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0x98943542
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
+235% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+5 to Critical Strike
35% Faster Cast Rate
222% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Level 15 Meditation Aura When Equipped
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (4: 4 used)
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
Duriel's Shell
Cuirass
Defense: 598
Durability: 29 of 150
Required Strength: 65
Required Level: 41
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0xfc47661e
+15 to Strength
+195% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +20%
Lightning Resist +20%
Cold Resist +50%
Poison Resist +20%
+100 Maximum Durability
Cannot Be Frozen
+1 to Defense (Based on Character Level)
+1 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Boneflesh
Plate Mail
Defense: 237
Durability: 46 of 60
Required Strength: 65
Required Level: 26
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 36
Fingerprint: 0x426bae16
+103% Enhanced Defense
+35 to Attack Rating
5% Life stolen per hit
25% Chance of Open Wound
Insight
Colossus Voulge
'RalTirTalSol'
Two-Hand Damage: 92 to 827
Durability: 26 of 26
Required Dexterity: 45
Required Strength: 200
Required Level: 48
Polearm Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 80
Fingerprint: 0x98943542
+5 to Strength
+5 to Energy
+5 to Dexterity
+5 to Vitality
+235% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
Adds 5-30 fire damage
+75 poison damage over 5 seconds
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
+5 to Critical Strike
35% Faster Cast Rate
222% Bonus to Attack Rating
+2 to Mana After Each Kill
Level 15 Meditation Aura When Equipped
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (4: 4 used)
The circlet gets Hazade within five strength of the required 200 and then I can equip Duriel's Shell (to provide way more strength than required) and then I can equip the Insight and Hazade gains the +5 To All Attributes and then I can change Duriel's Shell out for the Boneflesh if needed or desired. Easy
. The white Colossus Voulge was going to require socketing the circlet with a perfect amethyst (which I was ready willing and able to do) but turns out I got to keep one socket quest in reserve .Concerning the belt, here's what I've got:
Here's what I'm using:
Hailstone Lash
Plated Belt
Defense: 23
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 34
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xb5c0931b
+14 to Strength
+99% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +19%
Cold Resist +20%
Replenish Life +3
17% Faster Hit Recovery
and here's my String of Ears:
String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 110
Durability: 11 of 22
Required Strength: 20
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0xbc7974b9
+173% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 12
Damage Reduced by 13%
8% Life stolen per hit
+10 Maximum Durability
Hailstone Lash
Plated Belt
Defense: 23
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 34
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xb5c0931b
+14 to Strength
+99% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist +19%
Cold Resist +20%
Replenish Life +3
17% Faster Hit Recovery
and here's my String of Ears:
String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 110
Durability: 11 of 22
Required Strength: 20
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0xbc7974b9
+173% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 12
Damage Reduced by 13%
8% Life stolen per hit
+10 Maximum Durability
The rare belt I'm using isn't that impressive. I'm not using the plus strength and suspect I can make up the resistances and FHR elsewhere . . . I don't have any other options for damage reduced by x% or magic damage reduced by x . . . My resistances are at 75% to all elements (and now, 20 Cold Absorb and CBF) but I only have damage reduced by 7 in terms of physical resistance . . . Buffing physical resistance seems to be the way to go . . . Though to your specific point of +Life vs Damage Reduction . . . I suppose I'd need to do some math and I'm not sure I'm aware of all the factors that would impact the equation . . . Plus, then I'd actually need to shop the +Life +Something Else belt if it turned out to be the way to go . . . So for now, The String of Ears seems to be the way to go . . . and if I decide I really need more life in a hurry I suppose I can always dip into the 96 stat points I have in reserve
.On the Frozen Armor vs Shiver Armor question (sorry, I forgot to get back to you
) I've always used and preferred Frozen Armor. Usually I use Frozen Armor because it's a one point wonder that doesn't have prerequisites . . . but that obviously didn't factor here. What did factor here was largely familiarity. I know exactly how monsters are going to interact with Frozen Armor . . . with Shiver Armor I get interactions I don't expect . . . I could always branch out and really get to know Shiver Armor but I just don't think it's better. I REALLY prefer that my attackers get frozen (even if it's not for very long). I feel that it helps me get out of hit recovery animation if say I teleport into something nasty, it helps put space between me and my attackers if I'm running, and really, I feel it just helps me escape better in general. But I suppose I could be wrong . . .@Dezrok - Thanks! . . . But you know, I think I like your weapon better
. At best I get to use mine for Hell Act III, IV, V . . . but yours should be the dread-doomsday-weapon-of-the-apocalypse for NM and beats what I was using for Hell Act I and II! Before (and actually after) the eth Colossus Voulge dropped I was super jealous of your weapon!
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SunsetVista
New member
Surely you jest. You mean to tell me I can't catch a guy who doesn't know where he's going!?
Haha! I'm so scared that you'll catch me that I'm running randomly. Dodging, and weaving, and hiding, and sneaking. It could be dangerous to follow some of my tracks...
=P
Nice stuff.
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I can never find the time or the recollection to make large posts, so I think I'll just start making small updates. I'm lvl 59, cleared through 4 false tombs (Possible Duriel kill tonight, but it's getting late). One tomb dropped Telling of Beads and Iron Pelt, both of which I think will be useful. I actually had my mercenary using Vipermagi for the resists because he was struggling a lot with his 1 point off perfectly bad insight, but the iron pelt is a massive upgrade. He is quite durable now.
Telling of beads may see a little use in the future. The poison res might be useful for hell Andariel. The +skills doesn't hurt, but is really only useful for when I start using BO more.
Once again, I vendored a find item item helm. I really need to pay better attention to what I'm vendoring.
Vladimir and Jemali, level 59 demon slayers, Duriel next.
Telling of beads may see a little use in the future. The poison res might be useful for hell Andariel. The +skills doesn't hurt, but is really only useful for when I start using BO more.
Once again, I vendored a find item item helm. I really need to pay better attention to what I'm vendoring.
Vladimir and Jemali, level 59 demon slayers, Duriel next.
Great work!!! Keep going as you are and with what you feel comfortable doing! Super impressive!
I'm not complaining about my hurty stickBut you know, I think I like your weapon better
but for me an endgame item is more exciting than an item that makes the middle game a little easier......and speaking of which, Unlikely has reached the Canyon of the Magi.
Act 2 started out feeling pretty good. Jemali whacked things, Unlikely cursed things and the CG slowed things. Jemali is doing about 850 avg damage with his big hurty stick … that's kinda embarrassing at this stage of the game. Add in an effectively endless supply of mana from the Meditation aura and things started to get a little dull. Unlikely no longer really needs to finesse the curses … blind the monsters and Jemali will kill them, Decrep and he'll do the same, Attract, why not, Jemali will kill them. No curse … Jemali will probably still kill them without raising a sweat. 4-5 Hollow Ones/Guardians with their packs of skellies, some zombies and ghosts, monsters resurrecting as fast as Jemali can kill them. We could draw them out of awareness range and kill them … or we could just spam CE and blow up everything on the screen. Don't need to worry about running out of mana with that Meditation aura.
I'm starting to get why some people think that Insight is a little OP. The danger is of course that I'll get lazy and then once i reach a point where things start getting challenging again, or a boss spawns with a really nasty combo, I'll still be lazy … and deed. Better than struggling to stay alive with seriously under-powered gear though.
Notable drops: Face of Horror in the Sewers; Lum from Halls of the Dead; Tancred's Weird from the Dry Hills; Hel and Dol in the Lost City; Tannr Gorerod in the Claw Viper Temple; Twitchthroe and Skin of the Flayed One in the Palace Cellar; Cathan's Sigil in the AS.
Best gear improvements came from gambling, with this Belt
Skull Lash
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 29
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 24
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0x95f77df1
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+17% Faster Hit Recovery
+40 to Life
+19 Maximum Stamina
Fire Resist +30%
Poison Length Reduced by 25%
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 29
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 24
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0x95f77df1
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+17% Faster Hit Recovery
+40 to Life
+19 Maximum Stamina
Fire Resist +30%
Poison Length Reduced by 25%
and this Amulet
Order Wing
Amulet
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x795ea7a5
Item Level: 54
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels
+13 to Attack Rating
+11 to Energy
+33 to Life
Poison Length Reduced by 75%
Amulet
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x795ea7a5
Item Level: 54
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Necromancer Skill Levels
+13 to Attack Rating
+11 to Energy
+33 to Life
Poison Length Reduced by 75%
And found these two rings, a nice improvement over the plain 15% MF rings Unlikely was wearing
Coral Ring of Fortune
Ring
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x54c3cbde
Item Level: 46
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Lightning Resist +26%
20% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Drake's Ring of Fortune
Ring
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x300904ef
Item Level: 44
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+25 to Mana
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Ring
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x54c3cbde
Item Level: 46
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Lightning Resist +26%
20% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Drake's Ring of Fortune
Ring
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x300904ef
Item Level: 44
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+25 to Mana
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
I have to say that right now this is a very strange tourney for me. Despite not having allocated a single skill point I don't feel at all handicapped. This will surely change later in the game, especially when curse durations drop in Hell, but for now Unlikely is feeling very likely! (and of course having made this statement I will embarrassingly deed in my next session)
Unlikely and the OP team, Lvl 58, NM Canyon of the Magi next
jiansonz
New member
It's mainly tied to the low cost of making it. Cruel damage (and actually even better because of the Critical Strike) for a Sol rune as the highest. I think that a resonable cost would be if you switched out the lowest rune for something in the Fal-Um range.
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SunsetVista
New member
@HanShotFirst - don't follow these footsteps
This is hard to say...
I cleared half of Trav and got the waypoint. I went back to town, and came back to Trav through the waypoint. I went to the south a little, to clear some more. Very quickly, my merc was dead to an extra fast, cursed zealot pack. I tried to back off and use a town portal, but they surrounded me and locked me in hit stun as I frantically drank potions. I saved and exited with 38 health remaining.
So that's as far as I got. Level 81, 90 skill choices remaining, Hell Travincal. I'm pretty frustrated, having made it through all those more difficult stair trap situations, only to fail to a small lapse of concentration (and lack of fhr). I'll continue playing by the tourney rules until I either make Guardian or die trying. Good luck to everyone!
The Council wasn't too bad, although I was upset, I lured them out one at a time. There were dolls in Durance 1 and 2, but I fully cleared them anyway. I found a Cham rune. I used the teleport staff to set up the moat trick, and killed Meph very slowly with my crushing blow gloves and Goldstrike Arch (3900ish AR still missed most shots). Meph dropped Gorefoot and some things to sell.
Conqueror Yredelemnul, staffmod mojomancer/dark ranger, and Waheed, mighty merc, lvl 81, Hell Travincal
[highlight]The End[/highlight]
...or is it? Diablo, not even Death can save you from me...
This is hard to say...
I cleared half of Trav and got the waypoint. I went back to town, and came back to Trav through the waypoint. I went to the south a little, to clear some more. Very quickly, my merc was dead to an extra fast, cursed zealot pack. I tried to back off and use a town portal, but they surrounded me and locked me in hit stun as I frantically drank potions. I saved and exited with 38 health remaining.
So that's as far as I got. Level 81, 90 skill choices remaining, Hell Travincal. I'm pretty frustrated, having made it through all those more difficult stair trap situations, only to fail to a small lapse of concentration (and lack of fhr). I'll continue playing by the tourney rules until I either make Guardian or die trying. Good luck to everyone!
The Council wasn't too bad, although I was upset, I lured them out one at a time. There were dolls in Durance 1 and 2, but I fully cleared them anyway. I found a Cham rune. I used the teleport staff to set up the moat trick, and killed Meph very slowly with my crushing blow gloves and Goldstrike Arch (3900ish AR still missed most shots). Meph dropped Gorefoot and some things to sell.
Conqueror Yredelemnul, staffmod mojomancer/dark ranger, and Waheed, mighty merc, lvl 81, Hell Travincal
[highlight]The End[/highlight]
...or is it? Diablo, not even Death can save you from me...
jiansonz
New member
Yikes! Extra Fast Zealots are indeed very speedy.
As there are no zealot-only packs in Travincal, the curse must have come from the boss' spells.
Nice run you had anyway, you have beaten my assassin's run in the first tourney with a couple of areas (she died in a temple in Upper Kurast).
A Cham rune?? Wow.
As there are no zealot-only packs in Travincal, the curse must have come from the boss' spells.
Nice run you had anyway, you have beaten my assassin's run in the first tourney with a couple of areas (she died in a temple in Upper Kurast).
A Cham rune?? Wow.
SunsetVista
New member
@jiansonz - thanks. I knew it was a hierophant boss, but I didn't get to see his mods, the zealots swarmed so fast. I posted the rune screenshot on the item find thread. I'll probably stick the Cham in some merc helm so he can't be frozen, since I don't play hardcore outside of tourneys. It's pretty surreal.
epaminondas
New member
@SunsetVista: Sorry to hear about Yredelemnul's demise. In Hell every fight can be the last. You made it pretty far for anyone's standards. Although skillless, skill was heavily involved .
.
HanShotFirst
Well-known member
@SunsetVista - Ah man, that's the worst.
Years ago I had a tournament character that got surrounded and trapped by Blood Raven's zombies. They weren't hurting me much but I couldn't kill them fast enough and couldn't get a tp to open near enough to use. After slowly going through my potions I saved and exited because I really didn't think the zombies deserved the kill. It was by far my most unsatisfying tournament exit. Afterwards I didn't even play the character again. The character just sat in my queue annoying me until I finally deleted it . . .
So, glad to see you are still going for Guardian (even if there's an asterisk). I think it's safe to say your handling your disappointment much better . And BIG CONGRATS on the Cham Rune! Despite all my playing and all the targeted Travinical runs I've done I still haven't found a Cham Rune! Any ideas as to what your going to do with it?
Years ago I had a tournament character that got surrounded and trapped by Blood Raven's zombies. They weren't hurting me much but I couldn't kill them fast enough and couldn't get a tp to open near enough to use. After slowly going through my potions I saved and exited because I really didn't think the zombies deserved the kill. It was by far my most unsatisfying tournament exit. Afterwards I didn't even play the character again. The character just sat in my queue annoying me until I finally deleted it . . .
So, glad to see you are still going for Guardian (even if there's an asterisk). I think it's safe to say your handling your disappointment much better
. And BIG CONGRATS on the Cham Rune! Despite all my playing and all the targeted Travinical runs I've done I still haven't found a Cham Rune! Any ideas as to what your going to do with it?SunsetVista
New member
@SunsetVista - Ah man, that's the worst.
Years ago I had a tournament character that got surrounded and trapped by Blood Raven's zombies. They weren't hurting me much but I couldn't kill them fast enough and couldn't get a tp to open near enough to use. After slowly going through my potions I saved and exited because I really didn't think the zombies deserved the kill. It was by far my most unsatisfying tournament exit. Afterwards I didn't even play the character again. The character just sat in my queue annoying me until I finally deleted it . . .
So, glad to see you are still going for Guardian (even if there's an asterisk). I think it's safe to say your handling your disappointment much better
Thanks, and good luck, now that you are in the lead, I am cheering for you! =)
Aww, man, the zombies.... That sounds awful! Yeah, those extra fast, cursed zealots deserved their kill. I really wasn't expecting such ferocity. I was prepared for the merc to be badly hurt by hydras, or for a cold enchanted/phys immune council member to be really difficult, or for a doll explosion incident on Durance 3.... I really didn't expect zealots to end me. Now I know.
Cham will be saved for future use unless Guillaume's Face, Tal Rasha hat, Crown of Thieves, Vamp Gaze, or Andy's Visage drops. If such a thing shows up, Larzuk's putting a hole in it and then Waheed cannot be frozen.
Progress towards Guardian* is going well. I cube-socketed the Thresher and got 4 sockets, made a new, lighter Insight and Treachery armor for the merc. Now he kills things super fast, including Izual, no crushing blow required. We survived a couple direct hits from an extra fast, spectral hit burning soul boss and I was proud of that. Found an Ethereal Edge, made it to the City of the Damned waypoint, lvl 82. I will hire a Blessed Aim merc for Diablo so that I can maybe hit him with Black.
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@SunsetVista Nicely played to get as far as you did. Sorry to hear about the death, I was hoping a fellow Necro would go all the way.
As for Unlikely, NM Duriel has fallen. Not much to say, so will let some pics do the speaking.
Maggots lit up like christmas decorations (there is Jemali doing his own thing over the back of the room)
View attachment 675
Fire Towers must have a lot of life! (that Unraveler just came along to watch I think)
View attachment 676
So much loot. (so much gambling)
View attachment 677
Ancient Kaa put up a good fight and managed to kill Jemali. Once his undead had been blown up he didn't last long though.
View attachment 678
Duriel on p8. Decrep and CG slow do the job again. No trips back to town and 1 red pot.
View attachment 679
Notable finds: Blackbog's Sharp in the first Tomb; Telling of Beads in Tomb 3; Duriel's Shell in Tomb 6 along with an Io; IK Will in the True Tomb.
Duriel dropped junk .. well, Cleglaw's Pincers aren't necessarily junk but the rest was.
Unlikely the Necro, Jemali the Prayer merc and the CG, Lvl 60, NM Kurast Docks
As for Unlikely, NM Duriel has fallen. Not much to say, so will let some pics do the speaking.
Maggots lit up like christmas decorations (there is Jemali doing his own thing over the back of the room)
View attachment 675
Fire Towers must have a lot of life! (that Unraveler just came along to watch I think)
View attachment 676
So much loot. (so much gambling)
View attachment 677
Ancient Kaa put up a good fight and managed to kill Jemali. Once his undead had been blown up he didn't last long though.
View attachment 678
Duriel on p8. Decrep and CG slow do the job again. No trips back to town and 1 red pot.
View attachment 679
Notable finds: Blackbog's Sharp in the first Tomb; Telling of Beads in Tomb 3; Duriel's Shell in Tomb 6 along with an Io; IK Will in the True Tomb.
Duriel dropped junk .. well, Cleglaw's Pincers aren't necessarily junk but the rest was.
Unlikely the Necro, Jemali the Prayer merc and the CG, Lvl 60, NM Kurast Docks
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I've had a lot of time to play recently ... and a lot of ground to make up in the tourney
jiansonz
New member
My tactics from Normal worked in NM zombie garden as well (be passive and wake up few of them at a time). First floor required great care because it had those huge packs of melee flayers plus the native Night Lords (or whatever the 'taurs here are called). Second floor was completely different since there was not much risk of running into something that would assault us. Flayer blowdarters (when encountered with no other monsters around, simply target practice for Meghan and free XP and loot) purcupines and, OMG, these:
But that was not as bad as last time, both becuase of more accessible dungeon layout and better weapons.
Third floor had witches, shambling undead and vipers. Vipers are much easier for this type of merc to handle than it is for the melee dudes. Nilly was LE. I used a couple of Revive charges to both deprive him of exploding fodder plus help for the Valkyrie to tank other spawns.
Valkyrie proved its worth again a couple of times. Against this guy:
and then against this one:
Madawc was CE and ignored Meghan until Helena ducked behind a pillar. Megan and Madawc then had a gunfight and I helped her with potions. Korlic (Extra Strong) ignored both Meghan and Valkyrie. Not knowing the strength of his weapon and with only him left, I found it best avoid tanking attempts and run-and-gun him down instead. Riphook's slowing sure is nice.
In the early part of the fight with Vile Fester's pack, I tried Revive again, on one of those extra fast CE minions. But he behaved so strangely and chaotic that I had to abandon that and make a run for it. Every time the Valk got killed (which happened a lot) this minion would break the frontline it held and run back to and past me and bounce around like a complete idiot. There were several damn fast critters zipping around - both this minion and the boss pack. Frenzied-up extra fast Frenzytaurs, not fun. It was too chaotic for me to keep track of. Better to lure over a minion at a time, CoS and kill. And take on the boss as the screenie shows.
The chilling and slowing made Baal completely useless.
The only spell/attack he got off at all was the mana draining flamethrower. Pathetic.
I took cows on players 3, which turned out to be a good choice. It was plenty sluggish enough as it was, and I had to make a run early. Found a small cul-de-sac that was empty of cows. A quick TP and only a few cows found us when we got back. Without a melee merc, it's easier to activate only small packs at a time until I had more space. This place was useful:
but it was not really needed. Just convenient to fight a large herd.
Recent finds:
- Hel rune (makes Lionheart possible)
- Sureshrill Frost, Moonfall, another Trang-Oul's Claws (kept them, but probably won't use them)
- completed a 14 perfect topazes gear setup (partways in cow level)
- two decent +life large charms
Now that I had access to Hell, I sold 198 items I had saved up becuase the vendors in NM could not pay their full price. I have 1.35 million in gold on the character and 16 more millions in Bank of ATMA. Going to gamble amulets, rings and circlets, I think. However nice Treachery would be for Helena, I think it is more needed on Meghan because she is responsible for the main damage output, at least until I have a corpse. So I need at least one +skill on my gear so I can have Death Sentry on my switch and not have them poof. Well, unless I either deicide to go dual claws on main switch (seems like a bad idea because my Rhyme shield is so great when it gets tough) or shop/gamble a claw with both CoS and DS (possible, but very unlikely to spawn).
If Treachery goes to Meghan, then I can make Lionheart for Helena. That would open up stats for bigger elite bows and claws and can raise my blocking ambition above the 60% I currently have. I also like the prospect of 30% resist all and +110 life.
With merc's weapon so good, and Helena planning to make a better Harmony bow when a 4s Blade Bow drops, I decided to imbue some Greater Talons. Imbues have a bonus to the staffmod rolls, both to how many skills and to how big the bonuses are. They are decided with d100 rolls, where 91+ gives three skills, and 91+ gives +3 within a skill roll. The bonus for an imbue to these rolls is ilvl/2, which in my case was (75+4)/2=39.
First claw got +1 Martial Arts, +3 Phoenix, +3 Weapon Block, +125 AR and two poison affixes (resulting in 270 damage over 9 seconds).
Second claw got +1 Shadow Disciplines, +1 Mind Blast, +1 Fade, +2 WoI
Both seem moderately useful bot not spectacular. I think some more chippie rerolling and NM Anya shopping (yes, I skipped the Halls WP) is needed. I still have no Death Sentry claw with more than +2 and the only other useful skill on that claw is DTail. Then I need a new belt and new gloves. Some crafting is up. I think I'll start there. Probably going to try a few of those 'extra blocking' (safety) amulets, something I have not done much before.
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Riphooking Cold sister, level 75, Hell Rogue Encampment[/Highlight]
But that was not as bad as last time, both becuase of more accessible dungeon layout and better weapons.
Third floor had witches, shambling undead and vipers. Vipers are much easier for this type of merc to handle than it is for the melee dudes. Nilly was LE. I used a couple of Revive charges to both deprive him of exploding fodder plus help for the Valkyrie to tank other spawns.
Valkyrie proved its worth again a couple of times. Against this guy:
and then against this one:
Madawc was CE and ignored Meghan until Helena ducked behind a pillar. Megan and Madawc then had a gunfight and I helped her with potions. Korlic (Extra Strong) ignored both Meghan and Valkyrie. Not knowing the strength of his weapon and with only him left, I found it best avoid tanking attempts and run-and-gun him down instead. Riphook's slowing sure is nice.
In the early part of the fight with Vile Fester's pack, I tried Revive again, on one of those extra fast CE minions. But he behaved so strangely and chaotic that I had to abandon that and make a run for it. Every time the Valk got killed (which happened a lot) this minion would break the frontline it held and run back to and past me and bounce around like a complete idiot. There were several damn fast critters zipping around - both this minion and the boss pack. Frenzied-up extra fast Frenzytaurs, not fun. It was too chaotic for me to keep track of. Better to lure over a minion at a time, CoS and kill. And take on the boss as the screenie shows.
The chilling and slowing made Baal completely useless.
The only spell/attack he got off at all was the mana draining flamethrower. Pathetic.
I took cows on players 3, which turned out to be a good choice. It was plenty sluggish enough as it was, and I had to make a run early. Found a small cul-de-sac that was empty of cows. A quick TP and only a few cows found us when we got back. Without a melee merc, it's easier to activate only small packs at a time until I had more space. This place was useful:
but it was not really needed. Just convenient to fight a large herd.
Recent finds:
- Hel rune (makes Lionheart possible)
- Sureshrill Frost, Moonfall, another Trang-Oul's Claws (kept them, but probably won't use them)
- completed a 14 perfect topazes gear setup (partways in cow level)
- two decent +life large charms
Now that I had access to Hell, I sold 198 items I had saved up becuase the vendors in NM could not pay their full price. I have 1.35 million in gold on the character and 16 more millions in Bank of ATMA. Going to gamble amulets, rings and circlets, I think. However nice Treachery would be for Helena, I think it is more needed on Meghan because she is responsible for the main damage output, at least until I have a corpse. So I need at least one +skill on my gear so I can have Death Sentry on my switch and not have them poof. Well, unless I either deicide to go dual claws on main switch (seems like a bad idea because my Rhyme shield is so great when it gets tough) or shop/gamble a claw with both CoS and DS (possible, but very unlikely to spawn).
If Treachery goes to Meghan, then I can make Lionheart for Helena. That would open up stats for bigger elite bows and claws and can raise my blocking ambition above the 60% I currently have. I also like the prospect of 30% resist all and +110 life.
With merc's weapon so good, and Helena planning to make a better Harmony bow when a 4s Blade Bow drops, I decided to imbue some Greater Talons. Imbues have a bonus to the staffmod rolls, both to how many skills and to how big the bonuses are. They are decided with d100 rolls, where 91+ gives three skills, and 91+ gives +3 within a skill roll. The bonus for an imbue to these rolls is ilvl/2, which in my case was (75+4)/2=39.
First claw got +1 Martial Arts, +3 Phoenix, +3 Weapon Block, +125 AR and two poison affixes (resulting in 270 damage over 9 seconds).
Second claw got +1 Shadow Disciplines, +1 Mind Blast, +1 Fade, +2 WoI
Both seem moderately useful bot not spectacular. I think some more chippie rerolling and NM Anya shopping (yes, I skipped the Halls WP) is needed. I still have no Death Sentry claw with more than +2 and the only other useful skill on that claw is DTail. Then I need a new belt and new gloves. Some crafting is up. I think I'll start there. Probably going to try a few of those 'extra blocking' (safety) amulets, something I have not done much before.
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Riphooking Cold sister, level 75, Hell Rogue Encampment[/Highlight]
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