Skill-less tournament (3rd edition)
- Thread starter epaminondas
- Start date
congrats. it is still a skilless guardian just not a tournament guardian. massive congratulations on getting all the way.
jiansonz
New member
It got lively right from the start last session. The sprint from the Dry Hills WP to the exit brought me past massive mobs of fast enemies (leapers, cats). Fortunately, only one Champ leaper managed to follow us all the way to the corridor to Dry Hills, where we ran smack into a Holy Fire + FE + CE boss pack of Itchies. Good thing Itchies pretty much drop like flies (hehe!) to Meghan's arrows, and the leapers' 'Knockback When Struck' ability is advantageous for this duo. Pretty wussy monster draw overall, with vultures and raptors. A raptor nest corpse was used with DS to obliterate half a dozen Itchies. Sweet.
Meghan had to do most of the tanking in the Maggot Lair. Which means that Helena stood in her way when she tried to flee from locusts and beetles. It was, like, "and where do you think you are going, Missy?".
There was one boss, however, that was too dangerous for her, and Helena decided to tank it herself. (Gulp!)
I think beetles use Double Swing, and there was one time when both attacks hit, and this required a quick full puple because she dropped below half life.
Generous bombing helped in the breeding chamber. The main plan I usually have with Act 1 mercs worked - stand close behind and nudge her forward whenever she can't see a target, until eventually Coldworm becomes the target.
There were two quick and dangerous snake bosses in the Claw Viper Temple. It was good that I had brought along my 'Strength' claw which has Mind Blast on it. It replaced the Cunning claw for those fights. This boss
(the aura is Might)
and another that was Extra Fast + CE + Cursed both managed to kill Meghan with serial Charges when I was on the run. Spamming MB was a great solution.
I took several precautions for level 2:
- Turned it down to players 1
- Mind Blast claw on switch
- Circlet of Teleportation
- A temporary Amber Grand Charm to make up for the lost resist on the now-stashed Lore helm
The drawback with this setup was that Death Sentries would not survive a weapon switch.
I approached the altar platform slowly. One Claw Viper on it. Let's see if we can kill it before hopping up there. Oops, Salamander pack around the corner. Not from Fangskin's usual direction, regular ones. OK, pull back, CoS and kill.
New approach, and now the Viper on top was shot down, then another crawled towards us from the same place the Salmanders had come from. Do I take my chance on the altar platform? You never know if there is going to be mummies or skeletons that may swarm it from below. Yes, I take the chance. Sweet! Only snakes in here today. Game over for them.
Recent finds:
- Jewel of Fervor
- Azure (4) Large Charm of Vita (30)
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 81, Hell Palace next[/highlight]
Meghan had to do most of the tanking in the Maggot Lair. Which means that Helena stood in her way when she tried to flee from locusts and beetles. It was, like, "and where do you think you are going, Missy?".
There was one boss, however, that was too dangerous for her, and Helena decided to tank it herself. (Gulp!)
I think beetles use Double Swing, and there was one time when both attacks hit, and this required a quick full puple because she dropped below half life.
Generous bombing helped in the breeding chamber. The main plan I usually have with Act 1 mercs worked - stand close behind and nudge her forward whenever she can't see a target, until eventually Coldworm becomes the target.
There were two quick and dangerous snake bosses in the Claw Viper Temple. It was good that I had brought along my 'Strength' claw which has Mind Blast on it. It replaced the Cunning claw for those fights. This boss
(the aura is Might)
and another that was Extra Fast + CE + Cursed both managed to kill Meghan with serial Charges when I was on the run. Spamming MB was a great solution.
I took several precautions for level 2:
- Turned it down to players 1
- Mind Blast claw on switch
- Circlet of Teleportation
- A temporary Amber Grand Charm to make up for the lost resist on the now-stashed Lore helm
The drawback with this setup was that Death Sentries would not survive a weapon switch.
I approached the altar platform slowly. One Claw Viper on it. Let's see if we can kill it before hopping up there. Oops, Salamander pack around the corner. Not from Fangskin's usual direction, regular ones. OK, pull back, CoS and kill.
New approach, and now the Viper on top was shot down, then another crawled towards us from the same place the Salmanders had come from. Do I take my chance on the altar platform? You never know if there is going to be mummies or skeletons that may swarm it from below. Yes, I take the chance. Sweet! Only snakes in here today. Game over for them.
Recent finds:
- Jewel of Fervor
- Azure (4) Large Charm of Vita (30)
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 81, Hell Palace next[/highlight]
Last edited:
We're level 61 and have made it the fabled Kurast ruins. I'm not sure who "The Flayed One" is, but I found his chest piece. Useful for the mercenary I think. Things are generally going smoothly.
On another note - have we figured out how to avoid the bug where enemies just attack me? I don't think my mercenary has been attacked yet in all of act 3. It was nice at first, but now I'm getting frustrated having to run in circles all over the place.
On another note - have we figured out how to avoid the bug where enemies just attack me? I don't think my mercenary has been attacked yet in all of act 3. It was nice at first, but now I'm getting frustrated having to run in circles all over the place.
jiansonz
New member
They are in Diablo 1. It's the most advanced species of the 'overlord' monster type:
I know of no cure other than Save & Exit. To avoid it, I make sure I never get far away from the merc. The bug can hit when you get so far away that they teleport to you. Doesn't happen always in that case, but often.
This means that whenever I travel quickly somewhere, I have the map up and if the merc gets stuck, I go back for them so they can find the way.
Last edited:
epaminondas
New member
@Dazliare : In my experience, the bug goes away only after Save&Exit. You can do this by S&E at Kurast Bazaar after you cleared it, then going from the waypoint straight into Sewers. You can exit in Upper Kurast, so no rerun of anything. I find this bug very useful, so I usually avoid losing it once I obtain it. But I'm beginning to think that it's to cheesy for my taste. 
Bug's advantages:
- you can wake up monsters in a much more controlled manner (think champ frenzytaurs who killed felixbavaria's char which are very difficult to fight at the same time);
- usually no need for life leech on merc;
- easy fights in tight spots like doors, trunk passings over rivers, maggot lair;
- you can lock merc behind doors, or lead him behind walls from where monsters cannot see you, but he can kill them.
- in Ancient fights you can teleport behind the entrance to the Summit (it is a single file area); re-teleport as needed in the same place to reposition merc (if he gets out and another Ancient shows up); that way you only have to deal with one of the Ancients at any time.
Disadvantages:
- easy to be swarmed by monsters, if you're not careful; very important to have something like terror/confusion charges, mind blast/conversion or another tank (grizzly, valk etc) for tough spots;
- merc *is* seen by ranged attackers (I don't know about the ranged Ancient), and is damageable by elemental stuff (example: charged bolts from beetles).
IMO, the best merc for this "tactic" is a Holy Freezer.
Bug's advantages:
- you can wake up monsters in a much more controlled manner (think champ frenzytaurs who killed felixbavaria's char which are very difficult to fight at the same time);
- usually no need for life leech on merc;
- easy fights in tight spots like doors, trunk passings over rivers, maggot lair;
- you can lock merc behind doors, or lead him behind walls from where monsters cannot see you, but he can kill them.
- in Ancient fights you can teleport behind the entrance to the Summit (it is a single file area); re-teleport as needed in the same place to reposition merc (if he gets out and another Ancient shows up); that way you only have to deal with one of the Ancients at any time.
Disadvantages:
- easy to be swarmed by monsters, if you're not careful; very important to have something like terror/confusion charges, mind blast/conversion or another tank (grizzly, valk etc) for tough spots;
- merc *is* seen by ranged attackers (I don't know about the ranged Ancient), and is damageable by elemental stuff (example: charged bolts from beetles).
IMO, the best merc for this "tactic" is a Holy Freezer.
jiansonz
New member
pharphis said:
You mean like this one (courtesy of Fara):
Garnet Plated Belt of the Whale
Defense: 9
Durability: 17 of 24
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 37
+97 to Life
Fire Resist +30%
A nice one indeed. I could remove some fire resist charms and bring in more +life charms instead.
We move on in Act II.
Taking advantage of the terrain:
AS was a bit annoying because there were at least a dozen Specters that were killed off the path (=no drop): This was mostly because they often wander around aimlessly after CoS has been cast. Something I had to use quite a bit, for safety reasons. Then Meghan gets trigger happy at the worst of times...
I could tank up to two Specters at a time without taxing on the reds too much.
Maggots and cat people (both types) in the Canyon. I was pleased to not have drawn Crushers. Two maggot boss packs, which slowed us down a lot, but they are much more manageable now than they were on Nightmare (better merc weapon and access to Death Sentry, on a low-ish players setting).
I have dreaded the Gorebellies in the Tombs, but they have not been too bad. I've fought semi-early boss packs of them, but no Champs and no Extra Fast ones. Third tomb required some work to get started:
No boss early on. Thanks for that!
Recent finds:
* Grand Charm of Vita (39)
* String of Ears (14% PDR)
* Verdungo's Hearty Cord (unique Mithril Coil)
* Highlord's Wrath (unique amulet, grailer)
Wow, Verdungo's is pretty much like a Whale belt and a String of Ears in one when it comes to life and PDR! I really want to use this, but I first need one more level-up so I can add 4 more STR points. Then I'll swap out the Grand Charm of Vita and take back some fire resist charms.
And yikes, how nice an item that Highlord's Wrath is! Would have been perfect if I was more of a 'combat wombat' type of character. Helena feels pretty much married to her blocking ammy though, so Highlord's gets stashed for now.
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 82, Hell Seven Tombs[/highlight]
(two small false tombs + the True Tomb left)
Last edited:
jiansonz
New member
Something weird happened in tomb #6. I heard beetle sounds very close but could at first not locate the beetle. A CoS showed it being, from what I could see, on the other side of the wall, or maybe inside it:
I had planned to shop a teleporting staff to try to get to it (full clears and all...) but when I was done with the tomb, I was excited about playing the True Tomb. That part required a little muling beforehand, so I saved and exited and forgot about the beetle.
Stats for the Duriel fight:
Although the fight took a while (to hit was listed at 30%, but was much higher due to Inner Sight), he felt less dangerous than Andariel. Blocking was at 74% because I could only put one point in DEX last level-up. The other four points were needed to get strong enough for Verdungo's belt, which I have now equipped. Like I said before, I swapped out some life charms for fire resist ones (two Small, one Large). Life is now "only" a bit over 1200, but now I have 10% PDR and finally some FHR.
I also forgot to bring my MF armors/helms for the Duriel fight. Oh well, the drop wasn't exciting anyway, even if there would have been more green/gold rolls. The unique Heavy Crossbow dropped, along with a ruby, an essence and some blue/yellow items. There is no unique or set Shadow Bow, right?
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 83, Hell Kurast Docks[/highlight]
I had planned to shop a teleporting staff to try to get to it (full clears and all...) but when I was done with the tomb, I was excited about playing the True Tomb. That part required a little muling beforehand, so I saved and exited and forgot about the beetle.
Stats for the Duriel fight:
Although the fight took a while (to hit was listed at 30%, but was much higher due to Inner Sight), he felt less dangerous than Andariel. Blocking was at 74% because I could only put one point in DEX last level-up. The other four points were needed to get strong enough for Verdungo's belt, which I have now equipped. Like I said before, I swapped out some life charms for fire resist ones (two Small, one Large). Life is now "only" a bit over 1200, but now I have 10% PDR and finally some FHR.
I also forgot to bring my MF armors/helms for the Duriel fight. Oh well, the drop wasn't exciting anyway, even if there would have been more green/gold rolls. The unique Heavy Crossbow dropped, along with a ruby, an essence and some blue/yellow items. There is no unique or set Shadow Bow, right?
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 83, Hell Kurast Docks[/highlight]
Last edited:
epaminondas
New member
@jiansonz: Congrats for finishing Act 2, but be very extra careful in Act 3 as this act claimed the lives of our previous leaders.
Here's a table to marvel at our skill-less contraptions.
Here's a table to marvel at our skill-less contraptions
.
Code:
Alive characters:
Forum Name Class Char Name LVL ACT WP Version
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jiansonz Assassin Helena 83 A3(H) Kurast Docks 1.13
Sput Sorc Skilllass 64 A4(N) Pandemonium Frt
Dazliare *Barb Vladimir >61 A4(N) Pandemonium Frt
japanzaman Barb Babs 57? A3(N) Travincal 1.13
Dezrok Necro Unlikely 62 A3(N) Kurast Bazaar 1.13d
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
HanShotFirst ***Sorc Two 86 A3(H) Flayer Jungle
felixbavaria *Paladin Incompetentus 72 A5(N) WSK 1 1.13d
epaminondas *Assassin Adriana 56 A2(N) Palace Lvl 2 1.11
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
Two the Sorceress has been avenged:
I managed to get Stromtree alone on the first try. Three minions followed at first. Easy pickings with CoS use. Then a lone one came along, then another. Then it was Stormy's turn. Spectral Hit something. Helena repeatedly kicked him away and Meghan got him down to about half life before he scored his first hit and became faster. Now it was Meghan's turn to "tank", while I tried to draw her away. Had to kick Stormy away once more when Meghan was too stunned to move. She needed full purples as well, five in total. I led Stormy to the minion corpses (since they are CI, they all left corpses) and when the last one exploded, he died. Then there was one more minion to handle, followed by a frantic sprint in Lower Kurast in search of the waypoint. I was followed by a Conviction Extra Fast leaper for quite a while there, and I wondered if this really was a good idea. But I found the WP soon after. Yay!
The whole session was a study in control. The only times it was a little hairy was with a large bunch of Dark Shapes in early Flayer Dungeon level 1 (two regular packs and two boss packs, not all at once but at one time six of them to handle in that pretty small extra room by the stairs, and a boss + minion later). Two boss packs of Undead Flayers also made life interesting. This was on Flayer Dungeon level 2. One pack was Extra Fast, which is an understatement when it comes to these critters on Hell! Meghan had to "tank" both bosses a bit, since I did not want to be next to them when they died.
Recent finds:
* Lum rune
* Lem rune
* Jewel of Carnage (15)
* Ambergris (28) Jewel
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 83, Hell Arachnid Lair, Swampy Pit and Lower Kurast next[/highlight]
@epaminondas: Yes, I try to play almost as careful as possible. The plan for the temples (if I survive next session) is to mule in plenty of tools (MB claw, Harmony bow, teleport circlet, etc) and enter the temples on /players 1.
I managed to get Stromtree alone on the first try. Three minions followed at first. Easy pickings with CoS use. Then a lone one came along, then another. Then it was Stormy's turn. Spectral Hit something. Helena repeatedly kicked him away and Meghan got him down to about half life before he scored his first hit and became faster. Now it was Meghan's turn to "tank", while I tried to draw her away. Had to kick Stormy away once more when Meghan was too stunned to move. She needed full purples as well, five in total. I led Stormy to the minion corpses (since they are CI, they all left corpses) and when the last one exploded, he died. Then there was one more minion to handle, followed by a frantic sprint in Lower Kurast in search of the waypoint. I was followed by a Conviction Extra Fast leaper for quite a while there, and I wondered if this really was a good idea. But I found the WP soon after. Yay!
The whole session was a study in control. The only times it was a little hairy was with a large bunch of Dark Shapes in early Flayer Dungeon level 1 (two regular packs and two boss packs, not all at once but at one time six of them to handle in that pretty small extra room by the stairs, and a boss + minion later). Two boss packs of Undead Flayers also made life interesting. This was on Flayer Dungeon level 2. One pack was Extra Fast, which is an understatement when it comes to these critters on Hell! Meghan had to "tank" both bosses a bit, since I did not want to be next to them when they died.
Recent finds:
* Lum rune
* Lem rune
* Jewel of Carnage (15)
* Ambergris (28) Jewel
[Highlight]Conqueror Helena the Assassin and Meghan the Cold sister, level 83, Hell Arachnid Lair, Swampy Pit and Lower Kurast next[/highlight]
@epaminondas: Yes, I try to play almost as careful as possible. The plan for the temples (if I survive next session) is to mule in plenty of tools (MB claw, Harmony bow, teleport circlet, etc) and enter the temples on /players 1.
Last edited:
Alright, considering I'm at work and it's slow today, I can write a few words about Vladimir. I don't have pictures on this hard drive unfortunately.
Act 3 was probably the most fun I've had in this tournament so far. It started very easy in the forests, with a Skin of the Flayed one dropping. This gave Hassar some much needed leech. Now I don't have to life tap every mob! Shortly thereafter, an Earthshaker dropped. The HBT is nice, but otherwise, it's basically just a damage stick. Vladimir has very little AR, so I'm very seriously debating just putting a curse wand in the main hand so I don't have to lose a shield when cursing.
The best drop of the whole act though, came in one of the temples. A 4 socket gothic plate! Major score! 4 perfect topazes later, combined with 2 nagelrings, and we're rocking on the MF side of things.
Every time a find item helm drops, I end up vendoring it within minutes, just due to not paying attention. I decided it was worth punching holes in a white FI helm just so I wouldn't vendor the stupid thing. Pity it only got 2s, but for now, a 2 topaz helm with FI is a great addition to the toolset. Insight on the mercenary means I have the mana pool to effectively hork every single corpse. No big finds yet, but it definitely makes thing a bit more interesting
We're level 65, and have cleared the Outer Steppes. I plan to shop for a 4s armor with life as soon I hit 66, which will take awhile, but I think will be worth it. I have some jewels with resistances and defensive stats picked out for the diablo fight.
On that note, Vladimir is basically playing a loot bot right now. His damage is pathetic, and his lack of AR makes it even more pathetic. I'm worried about Diablo hammering Hassar into the ground, but what have other folks experienced with player settings? I'm worried that spawning him on P8 could be my demise if I can't keep Hassar alive. Thoughts?
Act 3 was probably the most fun I've had in this tournament so far. It started very easy in the forests, with a Skin of the Flayed one dropping. This gave Hassar some much needed leech. Now I don't have to life tap every mob! Shortly thereafter, an Earthshaker dropped. The HBT is nice, but otherwise, it's basically just a damage stick. Vladimir has very little AR, so I'm very seriously debating just putting a curse wand in the main hand so I don't have to lose a shield when cursing.
The best drop of the whole act though, came in one of the temples. A 4 socket gothic plate! Major score! 4 perfect topazes later, combined with 2 nagelrings, and we're rocking on the MF side of things.
Every time a find item helm drops, I end up vendoring it within minutes, just due to not paying attention. I decided it was worth punching holes in a white FI helm just so I wouldn't vendor the stupid thing. Pity it only got 2s, but for now, a 2 topaz helm with FI is a great addition to the toolset. Insight on the mercenary means I have the mana pool to effectively hork every single corpse. No big finds yet, but it definitely makes thing a bit more interesting
We're level 65, and have cleared the Outer Steppes. I plan to shop for a 4s armor with life as soon I hit 66, which will take awhile, but I think will be worth it. I have some jewels with resistances and defensive stats picked out for the diablo fight.
On that note, Vladimir is basically playing a loot bot right now. His damage is pathetic, and his lack of AR makes it even more pathetic. I'm worried about Diablo hammering Hassar into the ground, but what have other folks experienced with player settings? I'm worried that spawning him on P8 could be my demise if I can't keep Hassar alive. Thoughts?
felixbavaria1
New member
He can't hit you or your merc with his lightning if you stand at point blank range. With a bit of luck, you can both close in on him before he does any significant damage. My paladin took him at /p3 (since I was worried too) and it was the easiest act boss fight ever, could have easily done /p8.
I thought that was only in hell?
SunsetVista
New member
Nightmare too
Azrael and Skillass have cleared through the Glacial trail all on p8 and now sit at level 70. I present a few images below of the journey in act IV. I'll split this into two posts as there are several images.
There were some nervous moments as I played act IV a little loosely:
View attachment 727
View attachment 728
Hel Forge drop:
View attachment 730
Wait your turn Infector of Souls:
View attachment 731
Some fanatics chillin'
View attachment 732
Battling Diablo on p8 (for bragging rights).
View attachment 733
His (nice) drop:
View attachment 734
There were some nervous moments as I played act IV a little loosely:
View attachment 727
View attachment 728
Hel Forge drop:
View attachment 730
Wait your turn Infector of Souls:
View attachment 731
Some fanatics chillin'
View attachment 732
Battling Diablo on p8 (for bragging rights).
View attachment 733
His (nice) drop:
View attachment 734
Since Act III we have been following in the footsteps of a litterbug paladin
View attachment 735
View attachment 736
View attachment 737
The march up to the Crystalline Passage was relatively uneventful. The passage held some dangerous denizens however:
View attachment 739
View attachment 740
View attachment 741
This was a fast snake
View attachment 742
This snake took a long time but eventually fell
View attachment 743
On to Nihlathak.
View attachment 735
View attachment 736
View attachment 737
The march up to the Crystalline Passage was relatively uneventful. The passage held some dangerous denizens however:
View attachment 739
View attachment 740
View attachment 741
This was a fast snake
View attachment 742
This snake took a long time but eventually fell
View attachment 743
On to Nihlathak.
