Lowell's army of sturdy Skeleton Warriors, championed by the Mighty Jemali and the faithful Clay Golem, has vanquished Baal. It wasn't pretty, it wasn't quick, and it wasn't efficient, but I got him.
I'd just like to thank our wise host for a great tournament. It has been a long long time since I've played Hardcore, and I am genuinely pleased I made it through. When I found out I'd be playing Lowell for Act 5, I was still taking Olga through Act 4, and knew I could make it through the rest of the game if I managed to beat Diablo. I had played Lowell in Act 1 Hell, and knew he'd be boring but safe.
As he was a summoner, I would have given my left item slot for something with teleport, and I probably could have gotten an amulet through re-rolling, but I just didn't bother to take the time. Consequently, the outdoor areas of Act 5 were tedious. Actually had an interesting battle in the middle of the Frozen Tundra when something like 40 Imps converged on me with their beheamouth buddies as the catapults rained down. The ancients spawned without any real danger, just Amp, but I managed to take down the leaper as my revives timed out, and the others were down to 1/2 and 2/3 health, and the rest of the army finished the job. The whirler made me a bit nervous, being extra fast and deciding to come at me whimsically and sporadically. Lister was the first real wall I hit, and I thought I'd have to park him, but after a little regrouping his gang went down. When I got to Baal, well, it was boring. Between Clay Golem and Kelpie Snare, Baal became a little lethargic, and my Revives were pretty useless because the Skels were all too close. It took a long time and I just stood by andn watched, but he went down. He dropped me a Goldstrike.
Items I could not have made it through this tournament without:
Hsarus' Boots and Belt. Every single character used these two items. FRW, Fire and Cold Res, Enhanced Defense, and AR for the occassional melee character. Nothing else I had beat this.
Skin of the Viper Maji. Sounds like a lot of people had this item, and I'm sure you know why it was used. +Skill and resistance, and the FCR for the frequent casters played.
Lidless Wall. I socketed this in Normal Act 5 and stuck a pdiamond in it. Again, +Skill and resistance, FCR and mana. By the end it was all either casters or trappers, so this was big. Also had a Rhyme Shield, which I think GertrudeStein used for a while.
Kelpie Snare. Honestly, I can't believe how well this weapons worked, even in Hell. Granted, the Merc's kill speed was very slow, but the majority of Mercs I got were Holy Freeze, and that combined with the slow on Kelpie let the merc survive where he otherwise would not have. Socketed in NM Act5 with an Amn. The merc used Hwanin's Helm and Armor for a while, until I upped my Hawkmail (another crucial item) to give him CBF.
There were several others here and there, some good charms I found to fill in res or mana gaps, gloves I used Magefists mainly but also Laying of Hands. One-time wonders included a Cruel Hydra Bow of Ease (with a socket) on Gertrude in Hell, the Coldkill Hatchet for one of the few Barbs I played, and probably Civerb's Cudgel for the beginning of the game (love that +max dmg mod).
Notable finds that I could not use included IK Belt and Goreriders (and the Goldstrike is a pretty decent bow). I could have used the Ist I found from HF, but I think I'll just hang on to that one
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Anyway, I'll try to wrap this up. Lowell was a standard summoner, Max Skel warrior and Mastery, several revives (11 with my +Skills), a bunch in Corpse Explosion (18 I think with +Skills). There were a few random skill placements (Brak I'm looking in your direction...), but it's kind of hard to mess up a Summoner. He had low Str/Dex, and over 300 Vit when I finished him just a shade under lvl 83. Thanks again Skunkbelly and everyone who participated. You've gotten me used to Hardcore again (I currently have an untwinked Fire/Ice Zon in Act5 normal), allowed me to try out a few builds I've never played in the late game, as well as test my skills on some characters that had no business being alive in the late game. What a long, strange trip it's been.
(yes...I actually read through most of the posts!)
