Skill-less tournament (3rd edition)
- Thread starter epaminondas
- Start date
japanzaman
New member
Man. sunset, I thought if anybody was going to clear this challenge it was going to be you.
Perhaps hans can take it all the way. Babs has kind of hit a little slump- I haven't had much time to play him and he's currently sitting at the Travincal waypoint ready to take on the council and durances. I haven't decided if I want to go P5 or just go P1 and then suck it up once I reach hell. Killing is slow with this character, and I've decided that unless I get a Lem from NM hellforge or somewhere during NM then I'll probably have to hang this character up. I need something to beat PI's and right now I've got jack zilch. Guess we'll have to see.
Perhaps hans can take it all the way. Babs has kind of hit a little slump- I haven't had much time to play him and he's currently sitting at the Travincal waypoint ready to take on the council and durances. I haven't decided if I want to go P5 or just go P1 and then suck it up once I reach hell. Killing is slow with this character, and I've decided that unless I get a Lem from NM hellforge or somewhere during NM then I'll probably have to hang this character up. I need something to beat PI's and right now I've got jack zilch. Guess we'll have to see.You can retire Goulash, I've lost motivation to continue and decided to jump on the new ladder reset.
@SunsetVista Sorry to here about your deeds, I was certainly enjoying your write ups.
@SunsetVista Sorry to here about your deeds, I was certainly enjoying your write ups.
@jiansonz Nice work getting to Hell. And nice write-ups as always.
Unlikely has found Khalim's Brain.
Act 3 has mostly been about the drops. In particular, the Great Marsh provided quite the haul: Natalya's Soul, Tarnhelm, The Patriarch, Angelic Wings, Sigon's Gage, IK Will and Civerb's Icon. Also, Spineripper in the Spider Forest; Soulflay and Stealskull from the Flayer Jungle; Kinemil's Awl and Naj's Circlet from the Swampy Pit; Boneflesh from KB; and Twitchthroe from the Sewers. There are some really useful items with end-game potential in that lot.
I forgot that the River Stalkers in the Great Marsh were out of merc range and didn't stash a bow. After some thought I switched to FLux the Lightning Wolf to try and kill them. That wasn't particularly successful, so I tried Telash the Fire Wolf instead, with more success. After that it was back to an Act 2 merc, however, not being in a position to lose my maps until I reached LK I went with Zanarhi the Might merc instead of another Prayer merc. Zanarhi did 1250 avg dam per hit, quite an improvement over 850 a hit for the Prayer merc, but I did miss the healing a little bit (ok, not that much really, but it was a bit strange to be using pots again and things did feel less safe).
We cleared the Flayer Dungeon, all except the Water Watchers, and then switched to Geshef the Cold Wolf to kill the Watchers. Seemed to be less of them on the way back up then on the way down. Then on to LK where we found these quite nice rare boots (not sure they are up to the boot standard of this tourney though)
They will stay in the stash for now, but are likely to get used later on I think.
Once LK was cleared I went back to Normal to pick up Emelio the Prayer merc and made some changes to my wands to give me lvl 6 DV, lvl 5 SR, lvl 4 CE and LT, with lvl 6 CG and lvl 4 Attract on switch. Both shields are the Rhyme RW.
Then it was down into the Swampy Pit, where I didn't bother with the Water Watchers, so that is the end of the full clears. Just wasn't in the mood to fuss around with changing mercs for a minor amount of XP.
For the Sewers I did put Pus Spitter in the stash for the Stygian Watchers, but the first ones I came across Emelio was able to reach them, so it wasn't needed. The next ones he couldn't reach so Unlikley made the switch and started plinking away. Apparently we had a 42% chance to hit (according to the LCS), although we actually hit a lot less often then that. I think we killed the odd tentacle this way, but it was a long process and most of the time the Watchers got bored and sunk beneath the waters never to return again. Even hanging around for 5+ minutes couldn't get them to come back, nor leaving to clear other parts of the Sewers and then coming back. So, in the end I decided to give up on the Watchers Emelio couldn't reach (most of them) and forgo the extra XP.
Up next is Upper Kurast and with the arrival of another PTopaz I was able to make another 3PTopaz MF helm (this one with 10% FHR). Shuffling some other items around I now have 375 MF on Unlikley and 542 MF for merc kills (which is pretty much all of them). The Tancred's Amulet and Military Pick combo are getting used for this, which means I lose the option to cast Attract and the CG will drop to lvl 2. I also wont be able to switch between weapons and keep the CG alive, so tactics will change a bit. We'll see how things go. Unlikely's FHR hits 56 and the next break point.
Unlikely the Necro with Emelio and the CG (maybe), Lvl 62, NM Upper Kurast next
Unlikely has found Khalim's Brain.
Act 3 has mostly been about the drops. In particular, the Great Marsh provided quite the haul: Natalya's Soul, Tarnhelm, The Patriarch, Angelic Wings, Sigon's Gage, IK Will and Civerb's Icon. Also, Spineripper in the Spider Forest; Soulflay and Stealskull from the Flayer Jungle; Kinemil's Awl and Naj's Circlet from the Swampy Pit; Boneflesh from KB; and Twitchthroe from the Sewers. There are some really useful items with end-game potential in that lot.
I forgot that the River Stalkers in the Great Marsh were out of merc range and didn't stash a bow. After some thought I switched to FLux the Lightning Wolf to try and kill them. That wasn't particularly successful, so I tried Telash the Fire Wolf instead, with more success. After that it was back to an Act 2 merc, however, not being in a position to lose my maps until I reached LK I went with Zanarhi the Might merc instead of another Prayer merc. Zanarhi did 1250 avg dam per hit, quite an improvement over 850 a hit for the Prayer merc, but I did miss the healing a little bit (ok, not that much really, but it was a bit strange to be using pots again and things did feel less safe).
We cleared the Flayer Dungeon, all except the Water Watchers, and then switched to Geshef the Cold Wolf to kill the Watchers. Seemed to be less of them on the way back up then on the way down. Then on to LK where we found these quite nice rare boots (not sure they are up to the boot standard of this tourney though)
Shadow Trample
Greaves
Defense: 26
Durability: 18 of 24
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 70
Fingerprint: 0x56f6afd4
Item Level: 52
Version: Expansion 1.10+
12% Chance to cast level 4 Nova when struck
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+65% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +37%
Lightning Resist +10%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Greaves
Defense: 26
Durability: 18 of 24
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 70
Fingerprint: 0x56f6afd4
Item Level: 52
Version: Expansion 1.10+
12% Chance to cast level 4 Nova when struck
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+65% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +37%
Lightning Resist +10%
25% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
They will stay in the stash for now, but are likely to get used later on I think.
Once LK was cleared I went back to Normal to pick up Emelio the Prayer merc and made some changes to my wands to give me lvl 6 DV, lvl 5 SR, lvl 4 CE and LT, with lvl 6 CG and lvl 4 Attract on switch. Both shields are the Rhyme RW.
Then it was down into the Swampy Pit, where I didn't bother with the Water Watchers, so that is the end of the full clears. Just wasn't in the mood to fuss around with changing mercs for a minor amount of XP.
For the Sewers I did put Pus Spitter in the stash for the Stygian Watchers, but the first ones I came across Emelio was able to reach them, so it wasn't needed. The next ones he couldn't reach so Unlikley made the switch and started plinking away. Apparently we had a 42% chance to hit (according to the LCS), although we actually hit a lot less often then that. I think we killed the odd tentacle this way, but it was a long process and most of the time the Watchers got bored and sunk beneath the waters never to return again. Even hanging around for 5+ minutes couldn't get them to come back, nor leaving to clear other parts of the Sewers and then coming back. So, in the end I decided to give up on the Watchers Emelio couldn't reach (most of them) and forgo the extra XP.
Up next is Upper Kurast and with the arrival of another PTopaz I was able to make another 3PTopaz MF helm (this one with 10% FHR). Shuffling some other items around I now have 375 MF on Unlikley and 542 MF for merc kills (which is pretty much all of them). The Tancred's Amulet and Military Pick combo are getting used for this, which means I lose the option to cast Attract and the CG will drop to lvl 2. I also wont be able to switch between weapons and keep the CG alive, so tactics will change a bit. We'll see how things go. Unlikely's FHR hits 56 and the next break point.
Unlikely the Necro with Emelio and the CG (maybe), Lvl 62, NM Upper Kurast next
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Duriel's dead and didn't drop anything. I might start act 3 tomorrow, but we'll see. The 1 week races in POE start tomorrow evening, and I'll definitely take some time off the tournament for that. I swear I got double unravellers in the last tomb (is that possible?). Every room and hallway had multiple unravellers, and full clearing took a few hours. Most frustrating indeed.
I'm actually not struggling with motivation as much as I thought I would. On the contrary, I'm further than I thought I'd get, so every area clear is just icing on the cake. Vladimir has been a success thus far ^.^
I'm actually not struggling with motivation as much as I thought I would. On the contrary, I'm further than I thought I'd get, so every area clear is just icing on the cake. Vladimir has been a success thus far ^.^
jiansonz
New member
After lots of gambling and shopping, a little crafting, rerolling, mixing and matching, I've come up with the gear setup that Helena and Meghan will begin Hell difficulty with.
Primary Gear:
* 'Lore' Full Helm
* Crafted (safety) Amulet with 8% blocking, DR by 4, MDR by 5, Resist Lightning 10% and +24% MF
* Massive Scissors Quhab, +1 Cloak of Shadows, +2 Dragon Tail
* 'Lionheart' Breast Plate
* 'Rhyme' Tower Shield
* Russet (20) Gauntlets of Alacrity
* Nagelring (28)
* Plated Belt of the Whale (99)
* Fortuitous Ring of Fortune (28)
* Rare Heavy Boots with 30% FRW, Resist Lightning 39%, Resist Fire 29%, +10% MF
Weapon switch alt 1
* 'Harmony' Double Bow
Weapon switch alt 2
* Foul Greater Talons, +2 Death Sentry, +2 Dragon Tail
* Cunning Blade Talons
Charms mostly give resists and +life
Meghan the Cold Rogue
* Static (1-120) Circlet of Accuracy (6)
* Riphook Blade Bow
* 'Treachery' Breast Plate
In-game, Helena has the following stats:
Resists (shield setup): Fire 75, Cold 27, Lightning 75, Poison -25
Stats (with gear): STR 102, DEX 162, VIT 236, ENE 45, Mana 171, Life 1149
AR pretty much sucks, it's 901 using the bow. But she still hit pretty well in late NM when Meghan had cast Inner Sight
Blocking: 75% (after equipping the amulet and Lionheart, just one more point in DEX was needed to achieve this)
MF sits pretty nicely at +115%. I had met my resist goals without touching the rings. I had nothing good saved up anyway, and the gambling gold was needed for other things.
Meghan's resists are 31% (61% vs. Cold because of the Thul in her armor)
Her listed damage (with Venom triggered) is 595-928.
One socket reward is still available. I chose between a Lore helm and a Circlet of Teleportation. I have tried out the gear and this helm is actually not needed to keep the Death Sentries even if I switch away (probably due to the added levels the Cunning claws give) but I think the extra skill level will be useful. The area covered by the DS explosions depends on the radius squared so every extra +skill is helpful. Lore also gives my Valkyrie a little more life (although she will still be a complete wimp in Hell).
The TP circlet will probably be used in some areas. I may decide to socket it later and stuff an Ort in it (and a perfect ruby or topaz if I get lucky and get two sockets).
Primary Gear:
* 'Lore' Full Helm
* Crafted (safety) Amulet with 8% blocking, DR by 4, MDR by 5, Resist Lightning 10% and +24% MF
* Massive Scissors Quhab, +1 Cloak of Shadows, +2 Dragon Tail
* 'Lionheart' Breast Plate
* 'Rhyme' Tower Shield
* Russet (20) Gauntlets of Alacrity
* Nagelring (28)
* Plated Belt of the Whale (99)
* Fortuitous Ring of Fortune (28)
* Rare Heavy Boots with 30% FRW, Resist Lightning 39%, Resist Fire 29%, +10% MF
Weapon switch alt 1
* 'Harmony' Double Bow
Weapon switch alt 2
* Foul Greater Talons, +2 Death Sentry, +2 Dragon Tail
* Cunning Blade Talons
Charms mostly give resists and +life
Meghan the Cold Rogue
* Static (1-120) Circlet of Accuracy (6)
* Riphook Blade Bow
* 'Treachery' Breast Plate
In-game, Helena has the following stats:
Resists (shield setup): Fire 75, Cold 27, Lightning 75, Poison -25
Stats (with gear): STR 102, DEX 162, VIT 236, ENE 45, Mana 171, Life 1149
AR pretty much sucks, it's 901 using the bow. But she still hit pretty well in late NM when Meghan had cast Inner Sight
Blocking: 75% (after equipping the amulet and Lionheart, just one more point in DEX was needed to achieve this)
MF sits pretty nicely at +115%. I had met my resist goals without touching the rings. I had nothing good saved up anyway, and the gambling gold was needed for other things.
Meghan's resists are 31% (61% vs. Cold because of the Thul in her armor)
Her listed damage (with Venom triggered) is 595-928.
One socket reward is still available. I chose between a Lore helm and a Circlet of Teleportation. I have tried out the gear and this helm is actually not needed to keep the Death Sentries even if I switch away (probably due to the added levels the Cunning claws give) but I think the extra skill level will be useful. The area covered by the DS explosions depends on the radius squared so every extra +skill is helpful. Lore also gives my Valkyrie a little more life (although she will still be a complete wimp in Hell).
The TP circlet will probably be used in some areas. I may decide to socket it later and stuff an Ort in it (and a perfect ruby or topaz if I get lucky and get two sockets).
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jiansonz
New member
I may do that later. I did my belt shopping early in the routine and thought 99 was a cool number.
SunsetVista
New member
epaminondas
New member
Adriana has began Act II.
She started by dumping Defiance merc. That defeat, from the previous Act, to a champion ghoul sealed his fate. The new sidekick is endowed with a Holy Freeze aura.
We started the session with the pike to-be-upgraded in stash along with the rest of the ingredients, except for the Ort which we were waiting for to drop. We tried to shop Fara for +skills claws but find it to be very difficult. We only found 2 hand scythes in the entire session (which comprised the Radament quest). And that included a power shop attempt right at the beginning of the session. One of the two was relatively cheap (no +skills) so we bought it in order to reroll with chippies.
So, with a resulting 0 improvement in equipment, we descended into the Sewers, relying as before mostly on necro stuff. And the adventure began well, as not far into level 1, a Hel of a rune popped out of a stash. Here we come Obedience. Well, one can hope, right? As a matter of fact, that sound made when a rune drops has become the nicest sound of this tourney, for me. The runewords are the make or the unmake of this tourney's chars. The runes' power is pretty much unmatched by the rest of the items.
Radament fell with not much trouble, providing a book Adriana did not have the skill to read. Having one Hand Scythe to reroll, we took a break after Radament to bring on some chippeds. The first attempt yielded a +2 Dragon Tail, but we were aiming for Cloak of Shadows so we pressed on. The second attempt brought us a +3 CoS! And a socket! Well, socket-wise, it's the worst case, but still, luck was on our side. We stuck a +resist jewel (cold) into the socket, as the weapon switch mainly needs resists and not much else and, eager to test our new found toy, we ventured into Rocky Waste. And what a lively testing ground that was. A triple boss pack waited outside the gate. I had the opportunity to find out exactly how many steps does one need to make to be considered out of town and a target to monsters. We even developed a tactic by convincing merc to get out of town while Adriana was still in, so monsters would not start attacking behavior, while merc would. Unfortunately, monsters began realizing the stupidity of the situation and moved away, out of the range of the leashed merc, so eventually we were forced to step out. Luck again had it that the boss combination was quite mild, no auras, few cursed, but CoS showed its limits and forced us to return to necromancer behavior for that situation.
The rest of the area went ok, providing ample opportunity to accustom us with CoS specifics. Somewhere into the Stony Tomb Lvl 2 the merc bug resurfaced and provided us with a chance to experiment with the combination with CoS and we found that it works exceptionally well. Only trouble arises with champions, which need careful luring, one at a time, so merc can work undistracted. With help from merc's Holy Freeze, we manage to make the monster run after Adriana, circling around merc who pokes away unnoticed, until monster dies. Also tricky is when we encounter ranger boss packs (who don't ignore merc), but we resort back to curses when that happens. But the most annoying situation is when a mummy spawning tomb is around a resurrecting hollow. If we manage to lure out the resurrector, without waking the spawner, all is well. Else, is hell. It's quite hard to block the tomb with all those monsters around, even if cloaked. Adriana is bound to bump into a monster while trying that, and the poison from dried corpses really sting. The resurrector keeps adding to the problem and soon it becomes unmanageable and forces us to retreat. The next attempt is even more difficult so this combo can take a while to defeat. This "ignore merc" setup requires good blocking of Adriana, so we're pushing dexterity up at a rate of at least 2 per level.
Right in the opening room of Halls of the Dead Level 3 the Ort finally arrived. Adriana opened a urn, heard the trap sound and rushed behind a corner to dodge the missile, but also the rune drop sound made itself heard. We rushed back to check, holding our breath, and wondered at the marvelousness of the Ort lying on the ground. We immediately went back to town and spent another 1.5 million (almost all available gold) to gamble for some more merc weapons. Having reached level 54, we found two ferocious items (a bardiche and a scythe, 160ish both), but complex computations showed that damage per frame is still better in that pike we already possessed (78% ED). Little else was available in the equation (no life leech, ctc Amplify Damage etc.) so we upgraded the pike. Improvement is visible, but I'm sure a Sol awaits around the corner to improve life further.
In this session we also had luck with jewels. Found two of fervor, one of them having also +9 max dmg. Further items of interest were: a socketed Greater Claw (only 1 socket, unfortunately) with +1 Mind Blast found in the Halls (great stair trap defense potential), and another hand scythe at Fara with +1 to Shadow Master who we tried to convince to set up Death Sentry traps (as Arreat Summit claims he will) but failed miserably. We also noticed the puffiness of the Master when the claw containing him was off-switch. Another interesting drop was the Immortal King helm (Sewers). Should a godly sword drop, we might take interest in a barbarian merc.
We'll end this rather lengthy post with a table post, to make it even lenghtier.
She started by dumping Defiance merc. That defeat, from the previous Act, to a champion ghoul sealed his fate. The new sidekick is endowed with a Holy Freeze aura.
We started the session with the pike to-be-upgraded in stash along with the rest of the ingredients, except for the Ort which we were waiting for to drop. We tried to shop Fara for +skills claws but find it to be very difficult. We only found 2 hand scythes in the entire session (which comprised the Radament quest). And that included a power shop attempt right at the beginning of the session. One of the two was relatively cheap (no +skills) so we bought it in order to reroll with chippies.
So, with a resulting 0 improvement in equipment, we descended into the Sewers, relying as before mostly on necro stuff. And the adventure began well, as not far into level 1, a Hel of a rune popped out of a stash. Here we come Obedience
. Well, one can hope, right? As a matter of fact, that sound made when a rune drops has become the nicest sound of this tourney, for me. The runewords are the make or the unmake of this tourney's chars. The runes' power is pretty much unmatched by the rest of the items.Radament fell with not much trouble, providing a book Adriana did not have the skill to read. Having one Hand Scythe to reroll, we took a break after Radament to bring on some chippeds. The first attempt yielded a +2 Dragon Tail, but we were aiming for Cloak of Shadows so we pressed on. The second attempt brought us a +3 CoS! And a socket! Well, socket-wise, it's the worst case, but still, luck was on our side. We stuck a +resist jewel (cold) into the socket, as the weapon switch mainly needs resists and not much else and, eager to test our new found toy, we ventured into Rocky Waste. And what a lively testing ground that was. A triple boss pack waited outside the gate. I had the opportunity to find out exactly how many steps does one need to make to be considered out of town and a target to monsters. We even developed a tactic by convincing merc to get out of town while Adriana was still in, so monsters would not start attacking behavior, while merc would. Unfortunately, monsters began realizing the stupidity of the situation and moved away, out of the range of the leashed merc, so eventually we were forced to step out. Luck again had it that the boss combination was quite mild, no auras, few cursed, but CoS showed its limits and forced us to return to necromancer behavior for that situation.
The rest of the area went ok, providing ample opportunity to accustom us with CoS specifics. Somewhere into the Stony Tomb Lvl 2 the merc bug resurfaced and provided us with a chance to experiment with the combination with CoS and we found that it works exceptionally well. Only trouble arises with champions, which need careful luring, one at a time, so merc can work undistracted. With help from merc's Holy Freeze, we manage to make the monster run after Adriana, circling around merc who pokes away unnoticed, until monster dies. Also tricky is when we encounter ranger boss packs (who don't ignore merc), but we resort back to curses when that happens. But the most annoying situation is when a mummy spawning tomb is around a resurrecting hollow. If we manage to lure out the resurrector, without waking the spawner, all is well. Else, is hell. It's quite hard to block the tomb with all those monsters around, even if cloaked. Adriana is bound to bump into a monster while trying that, and the poison from dried corpses really sting. The resurrector keeps adding to the problem and soon it becomes unmanageable and forces us to retreat. The next attempt is even more difficult so this combo can take a while to defeat. This "ignore merc" setup requires good blocking of Adriana, so we're pushing dexterity up at a rate of at least 2 per level.
Right in the opening room of Halls of the Dead Level 3 the Ort finally arrived. Adriana opened a urn, heard the trap sound and rushed behind a corner to dodge the missile, but also the rune drop sound made itself heard. We rushed back to check, holding our breath, and wondered at the marvelousness of the Ort lying on the ground
. We immediately went back to town and spent another 1.5 million (almost all available gold) to gamble for some more merc weapons. Having reached level 54, we found two ferocious items (a bardiche and a scythe, 160ish both), but complex computations showed that damage per frame is still better in that pike we already possessed (78% ED). Little else was available in the equation (no life leech, ctc Amplify Damage etc.) so we upgraded the pike. Improvement is visible, but I'm sure a Sol awaits around the corner to improve life further.In this session we also had luck with jewels. Found two of fervor, one of them having also +9 max dmg. Further items of interest were: a socketed Greater Claw (only 1 socket, unfortunately) with +1 Mind Blast found in the Halls (great stair trap defense potential), and another hand scythe at Fara with +1 to Shadow Master who we tried to convince to set up Death Sentry traps (as Arreat Summit claims he will) but failed miserably. We also noticed the puffiness of the Master when the claw containing him was off-switch. Another interesting drop was the Immortal King helm (Sewers). Should a godly sword drop, we might take interest in a barbarian merc.
We'll end this rather lengthy post with a table post, to make it even lenghtier.
Code:
Alive characters:
Forum Name Class Char Name LVL ACT WP Version
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HanShotFirst ***Sorc Two 85 A3(H) Kurast Docks
jiansonz Assassin Helena 75 A1(H) Rogue Enc 1.13
felixbavaria *Paladin Incompetentus 66 A5(N) Frigid Highlands 1.13d
japanzaman Barb Babs 57? A3(N) Travincal 1.13
Dezrok Necro Unlikely 62 A3(N) Kurast Bazaar 1.13d
Sput Sorc Skilllass 60 A3(N) Kurast Docks
Dazliare *Barb Vladimir 59 A3(N) Kurast Docks
epaminondas *Assassin Adriana 54 A2(N) Halls of the Dead 1.11
imakeigloospat Druid Glenn 1 A1 Rogue Enc 1.13d
xXxGrimmxXx Amazon WaffleStrike 1 A1 Rogue Enc 1.13d
Atroz *Assassin ? 1 A1 Rogue Enc
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dead ones:
Forum Name Class Char Name LVL ACT Place of Deeds Version
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SunsetVista Necro Yredelemnul 81 A3(H) Travincal 1.13
Southpaw8668 *Paladin Lucious >19 A2 Duriel 1.13
xXxGrimmxXx **Druid Roland >=17 A1 Monastery 1.13d
Southpaw8668 Necro Goulash 14 A1 retired 1.13
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
@epaminondas: nice descriptions of the fighting! Interesting that you could use the ignore merc bug to your advantage. I always feel so scared/uneasy when it happens and monsters stop behaving like I am used to.
It's been enjoyable to play Helena in early Hell. I've used the claw setup on switch - there are so many Fallen I want to blow up (plus the damage from the explosions speed up the killing). Progress around the Fallen is actually faster than in Nightmare (I did not have CoS back then).
This demon lady sure had a fitting name today...
Other than very early on in an area, there is really only one type of enemy pack that can be a threat to us: fast and hard-hitting champions of a melee monster type. Ranged critters usually get owned by Meghan, although she may need potions against strong skeleton archer packs (she can't steal life from them). The ctc Fade is great for her sometimes, like in these situations:
Instant maxed resist all, and 15% PDR. Nice.
Found two Blade Bows today, and socketed them both with the recipe and both ended up with 4 sockets. Made a Harmony in one. Of course much better physical damage than the Double Bow, but unfortunately got the worst possible roll on the Valkyrie, level 2. Old bow had level 3 Valkyrie, and it was actually much more likely that this new one would get better than worse (it varies between 2-6). I want another try but I am out of Ko runes now. Do you hear that, Countess?
Cain has been rescued again. Reward ring was not bad, with Coral resist, +10 STR and over 100 AR. Don't need more lightning resist at the moment but I saved it. You never know.
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 77, Hell Black Marsh next.[/Highlight]
It's been enjoyable to play Helena in early Hell. I've used the claw setup on switch - there are so many Fallen I want to blow up (plus the damage from the explosions speed up the killing). Progress around the Fallen is actually faster than in Nightmare (I did not have CoS back then).
This demon lady sure had a fitting name today...
Other than very early on in an area, there is really only one type of enemy pack that can be a threat to us: fast and hard-hitting champions of a melee monster type. Ranged critters usually get owned by Meghan, although she may need potions against strong skeleton archer packs (she can't steal life from them). The ctc Fade is great for her sometimes, like in these situations:
Instant maxed resist all, and 15% PDR. Nice.
Found two Blade Bows today, and socketed them both with the recipe and both ended up with 4 sockets. Made a Harmony in one. Of course much better physical damage than the Double Bow, but unfortunately got the worst possible roll on the Valkyrie, level 2. Old bow had level 3 Valkyrie, and it was actually much more likely that this new one would get better than worse (it varies between 2-6). I want another try but I am out of Ko runes now. Do you hear that, Countess?
Cain has been rescued again. Reward ring was not bad, with Coral resist, +10 STR and over 100 AR. Don't need more lightning resist at the moment but I saved it. You never know.
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 77, Hell Black Marsh next.[/Highlight]
epaminondas
New member
@jiansonz: I grew such accustomed to this ignore merc thing that I'm actually stressed when it's not present . It means extra care from me to keep merc alive and extra trouble from merc-lured monsters (which tend to amount to quite a lot).
Adriana has entered Far Oasis still wielding of CoS. I remember CoS causing game crashes around various spawning furniture, but seeing tombs being safe (from that point of view) I relaxed and not worry about it further. Wrong! The crow nest (I think) provided me with a nice game crash shortly after entering Far Oasis. Nothing really important was lost but it chilled me to the bone. Restarting the game meant losing the ignore merc advantage and while running through the previous area a lot of fast monsters caught up and were dragged along in Far Oasis where a double boss pack (crows + CE beetles) awaited at the entrance. I almost run out of purples, merc died a lot, monsters kept pouring from all corners of the screen (CoS was no longer an option as the area again had crows), but we survived. Barely. In Hell (if reached) that running from one of the previous areas to the next will be our downfall. I'll make heavy use of Hibernate/Stand by function of my computer, but we're still exposed to system/game crashes. The fight ended up providing a Rattlecage, which is a very useful merc armor in boss fights.
The rest of the area was easier, with a misspent Monster Shrine which got applied to a young maggot. It was hiding behind a tree and I missed it when clicked the shrine, trying to apply it to an adult maggot.
Into the Maggot Lair I waited for the opportunity to trigger merc bug again. All it takes is to have him blocked by monsters, then Adriana runs away, far enough to force him to teleport around. We didn't manage to reach that far away (the layout of the level didn't allow such a distance) but we succeeded in getting him ignored on level 2 of the lair. Level 1 brought upon us the most wonderful rune possible (I'm exagerating, of course ), the Sol. It popped out of one of the chests in the rooms at the end of corridors. I was expecting more runes also from the locusts (I was very happy to encounter them, for that particular thing), but they only dropped potions and scrolls. No rings/amulets/charms and only one gem (normal diamond) from the entire population of flies (Far Oasis + lair). Very odd. The Insight will have to wait until a standard map appears (probably only when finishing the desert) as I need to make a trip back to normal to socket an ethereal bill for base. I'm very reluctant to spend a socketing quest for it, but option 2 is to use an Amn (which I don't have) to socket it for a 50% chance of 4 sockets.
Other items of interest was a rolled hand scythe with +2 Dragon Flight. I tried to experiment with the teleporting a bit but I think you need a monster around to teleport to, or something. I couldn't use it at all.
. It means extra care from me to keep merc alive and extra trouble from merc-lured monsters (which tend to amount to quite a lot).Adriana has entered Far Oasis still wielding of CoS. I remember CoS causing game crashes around various spawning furniture, but seeing tombs being safe (from that point of view) I relaxed and not worry about it further. Wrong! The crow nest (I think) provided me with a nice game crash shortly after entering Far Oasis. Nothing really important was lost but it chilled me to the bone
. Restarting the game meant losing the ignore merc advantage and while running through the previous area a lot of fast monsters caught up and were dragged along in Far Oasis where a double boss pack (crows + CE beetles) awaited at the entrance. I almost run out of purples, merc died a lot, monsters kept pouring from all corners of the screen (CoS was no longer an option as the area again had crows), but we survived. Barely. In Hell (if reached) that running from one of the previous areas to the next will be our downfall. I'll make heavy use of Hibernate/Stand by function of my computer, but we're still exposed to system/game crashes. The fight ended up providing a Rattlecage, which is a very useful merc armor in boss fights.The rest of the area was easier, with a misspent Monster Shrine which got applied to a young maggot. It was hiding behind a tree and I missed it when clicked the shrine, trying to apply it to an adult maggot.
Into the Maggot Lair I waited for the opportunity to trigger merc bug again. All it takes is to have him blocked by monsters, then Adriana runs away, far enough to force him to teleport around. We didn't manage to reach that far away (the layout of the level didn't allow such a distance) but we succeeded in getting him ignored on level 2 of the lair. Level 1 brought upon us the most wonderful rune possible (I'm exagerating, of course
), the Sol. It popped out of one of the chests in the rooms at the end of corridors. I was expecting more runes also from the locusts (I was very happy to encounter them, for that particular thing), but they only dropped potions and scrolls. No rings/amulets/charms and only one gem (normal diamond) from the entire population of flies (Far Oasis + lair). Very odd. The Insight will have to wait until a standard map appears (probably only when finishing the desert) as I need to make a trip back to normal to socket an ethereal bill for base. I'm very reluctant to spend a socketing quest for it, but option 2 is to use an Amn (which I don't have) to socket it for a 50% chance of 4 sockets.Other items of interest was a rolled hand scythe with +2 Dragon Flight. I tried to experiment with the teleporting a bit but I think you need a monster around to teleport to, or something. I couldn't use it at all.
epaminondas
New member
I tried SHIFT+ right click on the ground and it doesn't work. I wonder if you need to be charged up with some other skill in order to use this, as it is a finishing move.
SunsetVista
New member
For Dragon Flight, you need a monster to teleport to.
Crows nests, leapers, demon huts, trapped souls, and the Ancients can all crash the game with CoS.
Crows nests, leapers, demon huts, trapped souls, and the Ancients can all crash the game with CoS.
epaminondas
New member
Leapers have been CoSed and the game has not crashed. Maybe there are some specific conditions for it to happen. And when teleporting with DF, does the merc follow?
felixbavaria1
New member
I think the CoS is not a sufficient condition for a crash. It just happens sometimes with said monsters.
And yes, DF moves your merc. In fact, the main purpose of the skill is to reposition your merc at a specific monster you want to kill (like imps or unravellers). As an escape skill, it is only a last resort.
jiansonz
New member
In v1.09 and earlier, you can Dragon Flight to a summon (for example a Shadow) if you have Unsummon on one button (so you can target the summon) and DF on the other.
I am fortunate enough to have a computer setup where CoS rarely causes any crashes. With this gear, I have only had it happen a few times against leapers and in this tourney, twice against spawner bosses in Act IV.
Locusts drop misc_good items (rings, amulets, gems, jewels, runes) with about the same frequency as 'standard' monsters, i.e. not very often. The monster types with 4x the chance are ghosts, gloams and finger mages.
I am fortunate enough to have a computer setup where CoS rarely causes any crashes. With this gear, I have only had it happen a few times against leapers and in this tourney, twice against spawner bosses in Act IV.
Locusts drop misc_good items (rings, amulets, gems, jewels, runes) with about the same frequency as 'standard' monsters, i.e. not very often. The monster types with 4x the chance are ghosts, gloams and finger mages.
felixbavaria1
New member
Act V started with a glimpse at things to come. Because some not-supposed-to-be-there archers had spawned south of the Frigid Highlands WP, Eldritch was enchanted with Fanaticism, and the Highlands hat cats and archers, there was some frantic running and potion drinking until we had barricaded ourselves behind a barricaded door (teleport charges FTW).
Noticeable, but useless drops continued throughout the first half of Act V, including Ghoulhide Heavy Bracers, Stormchaser Scutum, a 3rd Vidala's Bow, and two useless set items from a set-only chest in the Pit of Acheron.
Abaddon had shamen, witches and balrogs. With no method of corpse disposal except a cold damage charm, 200k were spent in teleport charges before the level was finally cleared.
Cheesy tactic failure afterwards, continued to play on /p8 without noticing, which caused a lot of potion drinking but significant experience gain. Archers and vipers in Crystalline Passage, Lancers, Witches and shambling undead (yay!) in Frozen River. Anya's reward was completely useless.
Ghosts, Bone warriors and Vipers in Glacial Trail, easy. Some interesting evil urns, too, none too hard. Archers, Mages and birds in the Tundra. Easy, although Razan always attacked the towers instead of archers. Must be some Baal's army's equivalent to the Amazon's Decoy.
Infernal Pit had frenzytaurs (luckily, no boss pack) and witches including a CE/LE one.
Now, finally, the game started dropping some nice items: Bonesnap, Humungous, and a second Lum rune.
It got even better during the Nihlathak quest: Halls 1 dropped an ethereal Husoldal Evo (when upped, it would resemble Han's CV of Death in terms of weapon damage) and an Io rune. Halls 2 dropped an Um rune and Duskdeep. On the down side, some full purples were needed because of Tomb Vipers in Halls 3.
Today's play session was rather short, and it was clear that the story was somehow converging.
The Ancient's way was cleared without much trouble (Lancers, Bone Mages and Lightning Demos - easy draw, /p7). However, as there were three Lancer champ packs, it was becoming evident that champ packs were Incompetentus' worst nightmare - worse than aura enchanted, cursed, extra strong etc. boss packs on their own, because the latter can always be split with AI curses like Terror and Dim Vision, minions can be dimmed and taken one on one by Razan. With champs, the best bet is trying to Teleport-separate them, but that is kind of tricky and expensive.
The Drifter Cavern had a CE/FE Snapchip Shatter, who was very ingenious at hiding his CE ability between his innate Cursed and random FE abilities, so that Incompetentus' life was reduced to a sliver when he was standing next to him while he exploded. If it hadn't been for 75 fire / 50 cold resist, it would have been death - but Snapchip would have deserved the kill, IMO, despite the CE/FE glitch not being intended by the game developers.
The Ancients were re-rolled a couple of times until none was Cursed or Extra Strong. Kind of felt like Hell Ancients at that point. Finally, we had a victorious fight against a combo involving Stone Skin = Immune to Physical on Korlic, but since he didn't do any damage with his weapon, Razan had some target practice while Korlic was slowly bleeding to death.
WSK 1 (/p5) had witches and frenzytaurs. The first room had some witches which were DV'ed and dispatched. A Champion pack of Frenzytaurs ran towards us, killing Razan almost on the spot. In a moment of confusion, Incompetentus ran back to the entrance. There goes our chance to portal park them. TP out, resurrect merc and get Life Tap wand. Not enough - Razan was immediately dead again, three frenzytaurs were charged up, and the potion finger hit too late, so that "slurp / argh" were his last words. GG to Baal's army!
[highlight]Incompetentus and Razan, level 72, W.S.K. level 1 (NM), R.I.P.[/Highlight]
Post-mortem actions will probably include making the upped eth Husoldal Evo from his ATMA-stashed items, using a new HC char.
I won't re-enter though. Good luck to those who make it to Hell. It was not a bad run (second best tournament run for me), and strangely fun at times. I learnt more about Necro skills than Paladin skills in this tournament.
Noticeable, but useless drops continued throughout the first half of Act V, including Ghoulhide Heavy Bracers, Stormchaser Scutum, a 3rd Vidala's Bow, and two useless set items from a set-only chest in the Pit of Acheron.
Abaddon had shamen, witches and balrogs. With no method of corpse disposal except a cold damage charm, 200k were spent in teleport charges before the level was finally cleared.
Cheesy tactic failure afterwards, continued to play on /p8 without noticing, which caused a lot of potion drinking but significant experience gain. Archers and vipers in Crystalline Passage, Lancers, Witches and shambling undead (yay!) in Frozen River. Anya's reward was completely useless.
Ghosts, Bone warriors and Vipers in Glacial Trail, easy. Some interesting evil urns, too, none too hard. Archers, Mages and birds in the Tundra. Easy, although Razan always attacked the towers instead of archers. Must be some Baal's army's equivalent to the Amazon's Decoy.
Infernal Pit had frenzytaurs (luckily, no boss pack) and witches including a CE/LE one.
Now, finally, the game started dropping some nice items: Bonesnap, Humungous, and a second Lum rune.
It got even better during the Nihlathak quest: Halls 1 dropped an ethereal Husoldal Evo (when upped, it would resemble Han's CV of Death in terms of weapon damage) and an Io rune. Halls 2 dropped an Um rune and Duskdeep. On the down side, some full purples were needed because of Tomb Vipers in Halls 3.
Today's play session was rather short, and it was clear that the story was somehow converging.
The Ancient's way was cleared without much trouble (Lancers, Bone Mages and Lightning Demos - easy draw, /p7). However, as there were three Lancer champ packs, it was becoming evident that champ packs were Incompetentus' worst nightmare - worse than aura enchanted, cursed, extra strong etc. boss packs on their own, because the latter can always be split with AI curses like Terror and Dim Vision, minions can be dimmed and taken one on one by Razan. With champs, the best bet is trying to Teleport-separate them, but that is kind of tricky and expensive.
The Drifter Cavern had a CE/FE Snapchip Shatter, who was very ingenious at hiding his CE ability between his innate Cursed and random FE abilities, so that Incompetentus' life was reduced to a sliver when he was standing next to him while he exploded. If it hadn't been for 75 fire / 50 cold resist, it would have been death - but Snapchip would have deserved the kill, IMO, despite the CE/FE glitch not being intended by the game developers.
The Ancients were re-rolled a couple of times until none was Cursed or Extra Strong. Kind of felt like Hell Ancients at that point. Finally, we had a victorious fight against a combo involving Stone Skin = Immune to Physical on Korlic, but since he didn't do any damage with his weapon, Razan had some target practice while Korlic was slowly bleeding to death.
WSK 1 (/p5) had witches and frenzytaurs. The first room had some witches which were DV'ed and dispatched. A Champion pack of Frenzytaurs ran towards us, killing Razan almost on the spot. In a moment of confusion, Incompetentus ran back to the entrance. There goes our chance to portal park them. TP out, resurrect merc and get Life Tap wand. Not enough - Razan was immediately dead again, three frenzytaurs were charged up, and the potion finger hit too late, so that "slurp / argh" were his last words. GG to Baal's army!
[highlight]Incompetentus and Razan, level 72, W.S.K. level 1 (NM), R.I.P.[/Highlight]
Post-mortem actions will probably include making the upped eth Husoldal Evo from his ATMA-stashed items, using a new HC char.
I won't re-enter though. Good luck to those who make it to Hell. It was not a bad run (second best tournament run for me), and strangely fun at times. I learnt more about Necro skills than Paladin skills in this tournament.
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SunsetVista
New member
@felixbavaria - ack, sorry about the Deeds, those champion frenzytaurs are tough, especially at /p5. Congrats on making it so far! Great use of teleport and curse charges. I'll miss your updates.
