"Smoke" base

D

Drewgie

New member
"Smoke" base

Hey everyone.

My Untwinked Frost Zealot is quickly approaching Hell. He just scored an Um from his NM Hellforge (sweet!) and I am mapping out my endgame gear. Hopefully won't have to switch from MF gear to survivor gear right away in Hell, but I'd rather be ready than caught with my pants down.

Thus far here's the plan for endgame gear:

-"Black" Knout
-Rare Coronet:
Code: 
Brimstone Hood Coronet 
Defense: 39 
Durability: 30 of 30 
Required Level: 39 
Fingerprint: 0x67387d85 
Item Level: 56 
Version: Expansion 1.10+ 
+2 to Combat Skills (Paladin Only) 
+27 to Attack Rating 
Adds 50 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames) 
5% Life stolen per hit 
All Resistances +12 
Damage Reduced by 4
-Rare Rings:
Code: 
Raven Turn Ring 
Required Level: 48 
Fingerprint: 0xf1f2542f 
Item Level: 56 
Version: Expansion 1.10+ 
14% Chance to cast level 5 Charged Bolt when struck 
+18 to Attack Rating 
4% Life stolen per hit 
+13 Maximum Stamina 
All Resistances +11 
Damage Reduced by 2


Doom Touch 
Ring 
Required Level: 51 
Fingerprint: 0xb9b7339 
Item Level: 64 
Version: Expansion 1.10+ 
+7 to Minimum Damage 
+2 to Strength 
Replenish Life +4 
All Resistances +11
-Rare Ammy, if no blood crafts give me anything good as is the case so far:
Code: 
Ghoul Gorget 
Amulet 
Required Level: 15 
Fingerprint: 0x7a4b3c4c 
Item Level: 22 
Version: Expansion 1.10+ 
+1 to Offensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only) 
+19 to Life 
Fire Resist +30% 
Half Freeze Duration
-"Rhyme" in a Crown Shield with nice staff resists, for a total of 50 res all!
-IK Belt
-Natalya's boots, unless I get a good gamble
-Bloodfist, unless I find the IK gloves or craft some sweet blood gloves with 10 CB and some leech/ias

The Um is going toward either a "Crescent Moon" or "Duress" for the moron. Probably "Duress" since I can up his Kelpie snare and do just fine.

Which leaves the body armor. I haz a Nef. I haz a Lum. I haz a 2os Templar Coat with a str req of 118. The solution is therefore obvious, right?

But I hesitate. Here's why:

[farfetchedscenario]Current str is 90. If a HoZ drops I don't need any further str investment to wear ik belt and, if they drop, ik gloves, which would then grant another 45 str for a total of 155 str after items. With just a little more str investment I could then make my "smoke" in a Balrog Skin or Boneweave.[/farfetchedscenario] (MF is upwards of 500 though. It could happen! C'mon Big D, don't let me down!)

Far more realistically, I invest in 20 more hard str pts, slap on the IK belt resulting in 135 str, and if the gloves drop, 155 str. Same scenario minus the HoZ, plus more hard pts in str.

tl;dr version: Is it worth taking the risk of lower resistances for early Hell questing to hold out for a better base for the "Smoke"? Or should I just make the dang thing in the Templar Coat after I kill NM Baal and not lose any sleep over the extra 200-300 defense that could have been? I know D2 well enough to know that if I do make it in the Templar Coat 2 seconds later a 2os Archon Plate will drop. :crazyeyes:

Also, any comments on how you think I could improve other gear going into Hell is appreciated. I still have all my imbues and socket quests available.
 
Re: "Smoke" base

I would say make it in the base you have. Yes, ideally it would be great to have it in something with the str req's that you'll be meeting end game. But you list a lot of hypothetical things like HoZ and IK gloves both dropping for this guy. Not saying it won't happen, but you might be getting your hopes up some? The 20 strength will boost your damage and the 200-300 def will not make that much of a difference. It might make your chance to be hit like 1% lower, but your chance to block with HS will be much more important. So I say go for it. The resistances boost will have a much greater impact than the defense. And the runes are not that rare. You might find another pair of those before finding the IK gloves/HoZ.
 
Re: "Smoke" base

@ emokid Even without the hypothetical item drops my str will be 135 after items, so I could still get a better base equipped. But I see your point, and it's not worth risking death by some LE/Conviction unique in the blood moor to try and eek out an extra bit of def. I will make it in the Templar coat after NM Baal is splatted.

@ Kitteh Could an rare phase blade really match the 40% CB from "Black"? My initial thought was to imbue Coronets.
 
Re: "Smoke" base

I would caution against 'Black' for a melee character, especially one that relies on multiple hits. Black has Knockback, and it's quite likely that your first hit will push the targeted monster out of attack range for the rest of your zeal cycle.

For bosses, who can't be knockbacked, Black is an excellent source of Crushing Blow for cheap.
 
Re: "Smoke" base

Lum runes are not very rare. I'd go ahead and make the 'Smoke' Templar Coat, but always be on the lookout for a 2os Wire Fleece or Great Hauberk. Those are light armors that will allow your Pally to R/W faster, and have better Defense. I'd go with that over Balrog Skin or Boneweave.

On defense - if you are pumping Holy Shield, you'll want to have a higher defense setup, everything else being equal since that skill pumps your character's defense - so it would make since to upgrade your 'Smoke' if you find a better base (and have found an extra Lum or 2).

BTW - if the knockback of 'Black' gets tedious, note that 'Strength' in a Cutlass would provide CB in a [-30] speed weapon with no KB.
 
Re: "Smoke" base

I already have a strength flail that got me through the second half of normal and first half of NM. However, I am actually loving the Knockback on my Black Knout. This guy is doing full clears, so separating mobs and crowd control is a necessity. The KB is helping tremendously in this regard. If I'm dealing with a single enemy I just charge them against a wall or into a corner then zeal. Trapping them between myself and the merc works well also.

Only going to be putting 5 in HS, which is actually why I was worried about getting every last bit of def possible. Lums aren't that rare, true, but I'm assuming the game will be stingy and not gieb another, let alone a fal for "Lionheart".
 
Re: "Smoke" base

Just make it. Defense isn't a highly rated stat for a good reason.

Why not use the Um to make a Crescent Moon for yourself?
 
Re: "Smoke" base

The ITD, ctc Static (with -ELR) and decent physical damage is useful to any Zealot. CB can get you through the game, but there's no reason to rely on it if you actually have other options.

RE Duress, I guess for an untwinked melee char any bit of CB or OW on your merc is useful (imo Duress is highly overrated in any other context), but I'd still consider Crescent Moon.
 
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