SPF Quest for Guardians in Progress thread

[HanShotFirst]

Mordred, HC, SP, clvl 47, Bone Necro, N Rogue Encampment

And another one gone, and another one gone, another one bites the dust ...



Act V has been full cleared at players 7!
Every monster. Every urn.

Even though stuff like this was coming out of them:


But, since @Maltatai asked, let's start with Chalan . While I can't know for sure, I think he's got to be pretty glad that he decided to go adventuring with this Bone Necro. Late in Act II, I decided that I'd build this character a bit differently than previous Bone Necros that I'd created. Instead of going for achieving crowd control with Revive as a one point wonder, I decided I'd try going for the same thing with Decrepify. My thinking was it would save a couple skill points, monsters wouldn't be so spread out around the screen (engaging Revives, here, there, everywhere), and it'd just be one less thing to maintain (Revives last a few minutes, but still ... ). And so far, I'd have to say that Mordred and Chalan are both quite happy with that decision. Decrepify doesn't last very long, but so far, it's debuffed most monsters in near nothing-ness!

For example:

On most untwinked characters I need to retreat out of the Throne Room to deal with the Plucked Chickens. But with Decrepify, I only felt the need to back out of range of Baal's Decrepify, and then we took them down on the spot!

Even wearing mf gear (a topazed armor and helm), Chalan has only had two deaths that I recall. Both in the Chaos Sanctuary. The first came when he charged full on into the Infector of Souls and all his Venom Lords . Decripify is great, but it doesn't help against the Venom Lord's Inferno. The other death came against Diablo. Decrepify plus Clay Golem has been doing a great job of slowing bosses into nothing-ness (there's that word again). It was great against Duriel and Mephisto. It was better than great against Baal ... he did absolutely nothing ... we teleported on top of him, lit him up with Decrepify, and he never managed to do a thing. No tentacles. No clone. Nothing! But, Diablo did a bit better. He managed to string together a series of elemental attacks that were too much for poor Chalan.

However, Chalan had a very nice Act V. Not one death. And he even got a nice new weapon. The first couple Partizans I came across were magic. But then, in the Glacial Trail:


That'll work! If you're willing to spend a socket quest ... which I was ...

We showed it to Larzuk and created:

Spoiler

Insight
Partizan
RalTirTalSol
Two Hand Damage: 102 - 226
Durability: 11 of 21
Required Level: 27
Required Strength: 113
Required Dexterity: 67
Fingerprint: 0xb5393c91
Item Level: 33
Version: Resurrected
Level 13 Meditation Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Cast Rate
202% Enhanced Damage
250% Bonus to Attack Rating
Adds 5 - 30 Fire Damage
Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
+1 to Critical Strike
All Stats +5
+2 to Mana after each Kill
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
4 Sockets (4 used)

Um. Wow. Just about the worst Insight possible . No. Wait. The Bonus to Attack Rating is perfect! Well there you go . Good thing even a bad Partizan Insight is still a great weapon!

Anyhow, I didn't hear any complaints from Chalan ... and, it totally ended Mordred's dependence on potions, so ... Mission Accomplished!

The other big development (in terms of items) came as a result of ...

This.

And this.


Two Amn Runes?! (With Insight already on the merc). That can only mean that it's time to try and roll a four socket sword! After continuing down to finish off Nihlathak, I ducked out of the game to check the ilvls on some crystal swords I picked up along the journey. Oh good, all were the appropriate ilvl. So, I decided I'd make the attempt with this extra cool looking etheral crystal sword:

Spoiler

Spirit
Crystal Sword
TalThulOrtAmn
One Hand Damage: 7 - 22
Durability: 11 of 11
Required Level: 25
Required Strength: 33
Fingerprint: 0x604b90d8
Item Level: 35
Version: Resurrected
+2 to All Skills
+33% Faster Cast Rate
+55% Faster Hit Recovery
Adds 1 - 50 Lightning Damage
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
Adds 75 Poison Damage Over 5 Secs (125 Frames)
7% Life stolen per hit
+250 Defense vs. Missile
+22 to Vitality
+107 to Mana
+7 Magic Absorb
Ethereal
4 Sockets (4 used)

We have a winner! Four sockets, and then what a roll! Near perfect mana and magic absorb, and the 33% FCR takes Mordred to 12 frame casting all by itself! And most notably, it came so early in the game. I'm not sure if I've ever had a Partizan Insight and a Spirit Sword up and running on an untwinked character before setting foot on the Frozen Tundra ... Nice!

I also came across a couple interesting rares:

The boots came from the Frigid Highlands and went right into use. Oh. And that PTopaz, it came from a Gem Shrine. One of three Gem Shrines I came across in Act V. I managed to negotiate a PTopaz out of each one .

Also:

The staff came out of Nihlathak's Temple (I don't recall what level). I had shopped a teleport staff off Ormus back in Act III, but wow, this is so much better! Fun fact. The tournament Bone Necro, Mordred, that this character is replacing/avenging ... died when he used a teleport staff to shortcut into a room and got blasted by Fire Mages. And look, now I have a teleport staff with fire resistance ... clearly I've learned my lesson .

So those were the big gear upgrades. You'll notice none were set/uniques. But that's not to say that I didn't find any!

Here's the set/uniques that resulted from a full clear of Act V at players 7:
(With 174 mf when Mordred killed, and 256 mf when the merc killed.) ... I haven't made use of all those PTopazes yet ...

Gleamscythe, Falchion (Bloody Foothills)
Tancred's Crowbill, Military Pick (Bloody Foothills)
Sigon's Visor, Great Helm (Frigid Highlands)
Sigon's Gage, Gauntlets (Frigid Highlands)
Cathan's Mesh, Chain Mail (Frigid Highlands)
Arctic Mitts, Light Gauntlets (Abaddon)
Death's Touch, War Sword (Abaddon)
Knell Striker, Scepter (Arreat Plateau) <-- A surprise TC3 appearance!
Tancred's Weird, Amulet (Arreat Plateau)
Berserker's Hatchet, Double Axe (Frozen River)
Sigon's Wrap, Plated Belt (Drifter Cavern)
Rogue's Bow, Composite Bow (Halls of Anguish)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Hall of Vaught)
Cleglaw's Tooth, Long Sword (Hall of Vaught)
Civerb's Cudgel, Grand Scepter (Frozen Tundra)
The Face of Horror, Mask (Frozen Tundra)
Isenhart's Horns, Full Helm (Frozen Tundra)
Vidala's Barb, Long Battle Bow (The Ancients' Way)
Milabrega's Orb, Kite Shield (Baal)
Vidala's Barb, Long Battle Bow (Baal)

and then,

The Chieftain, Battle Axe (The Secret Cow Level)
Bverrit Keep, Tower Shield (The Secret Cow Level)

So, that feels like a pretty good haul! Though nothing that I'm planning to use ... I had been wanting more of the Angelic set ... but I think I'm rather past that. At this point, with four PTopazes, and some pretty good rares and magic items ... I think I can do better. So mf is still a focus, but at this point, I'm mostly hoping to find some cool stuff for the merc . There's a few things that could really help Mordred (*cough*Vipermagi*cough*) but I'm not going to hold my breath on stuff like that ...


Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  N Rogue Camp      47     2022-03-28 Yes  Yes  Yes  47    D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

Up next:
Time for NM! ... or maybe some shopping ... I was rolling so fast and so hard with Insight and Spirit that I didn't bother to stop and do much of the shopping that I would normally do in Act V. Hmm. I could stand to shop a better belt (life and resists) and gloves (mf and resists). Also, there's the question of do I stick the PTopazes in a helm or an armor ... I think I'd prefer armor ... but four socketed armors can be hard to find. I'd also like to gamble some circlets. Some life leech could be important for Chalan now that we're going into NM ... and who knows, I could find something amazing for Mordred too! Come on Gheed you cheap bastard, cough up something good!

 

[HanShotFirst]

Mordred, HC, SP, clvl 52, Bone Necro, N Lut Gholein

Ashes, ashes, we all fall down ...

Well, all the monsters that is ...

NM Act I has been full cleared at players 7.

But before I got going in NM, I did a little shopping at Larzuk. He was nice enough to provide:


Which was socketed with the three PTopazes I got out of Gem Shrines in Act V.


Nice. Two great items for 13k gold.

I then took my life savings, some 2.8 million gold, and gambled circlets at Gheed. And got:

Spoiler

Nothing.
Absolutely nothing.

So NM Act I was all about picking up loot and selling it to Gheed and gambling circlets in the hopes of getting some life leech for the merc. Spoiler alert: It didn't work. Gheed made a fortune. I just got annoyed. Near the end I tried going around Gheed asking Charsi for help. The imbue quest resulted in a pretty nice merc circlet:


All good mods! But still no life leech .

Fortunately things went much better on the field of battle. With Bone Spear having been maxed in Act V, points were now going into Bone Prison. It increases Bone Spear damage, increases Bone Armor, and it does have it's own uses:



So, yeah. Mordred has plenty of tools to go all the way. If anything, he might be too good. I feel like the most likely death scenario is getting lulled to sleep by how well things are going, and then something fast and sneaky comes up, bypasses his Bone Armor, and cuts through his itty-bitty life in the blink of an eye. Yes, I have seen my doom. Now can I continue to avoid it?!

Ooh. That got dark. Especially considering things are going so well. Am I method acting my Necromancer? Let's change gears, and talk drops! Which were so numerous, it should be enough to put a smile on the face of even the grimmest Necromancer!

Here's the set/uniques that resulted from a full clear of NM Act I at players 7:
(With 217 mf when Mordred killed, and 312 mf when the merc killed.)

Vidala's Barb, Long Battle Bow (Blood Moor)
Sigon's Shelter, Gothic Plate (Blood Moor)
Soulflay, Claymore (Cold Plains)
Gorefoot, Heavy Boots (Crypt)
Isenhart's Case, Breast Plate (Crypt)
Bloodrise, Morning Star (Mausoleum)
Shadowfang, Two-Handed Sword (Stony Field)
Sander's Taboo, Heavy Gloves (Underground Passage Level 1)
Raven Claw, Long Bow (Dark Wood)
Iceblink, Splint Mail (Dark Wood)
Duskdeep, Full Helm (Tristram)
Nokozan Relic, Amulet (Tower Cellar Level 2)
Angelic Halo, Ring (Pit Level 2)
Iratha's Collar, Amulet (Jail Level 1)
Cathan's Mesh, Chain Mail (Jail Level 2)
Sigon's Wrap, Plated Belt (Jail Level 3)
Cathan's Sigil, Amulet (Catacombs Level 2)
Cleglaw's Tooth, Long Sword (Catacombs Level 2)
Iratha's Collar, Amulet (Catacombs Level 3)
Treads of Cthon, Chain Boots (Andariel)
The Salamander, Battle Staff (Andariel)

Well, that's a good quantity and distribution from beginning to end! But, we're still looking for that gem in the five and dime store. The 'Freezes target' on the Iceblink give is some utility as a merc armor, but I'm not sure if I'll end up putting it to use. I'm hoping to find better ... perhaps in NM Act II!

Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  N Lut Gholein     52     2022-03-29 Yes  Yes  Yes  68    D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

Up next:
Forget Gheed. Elzix! I'm sure he's the one who will hook us up with a nice circlet with good life leech. But first, I've got two PRubys, and two Rals I can spare. So, perhaps I'll try crafting a couple Blood Helms. Even if I get the max life leech (3%), that's still not too great ... but perhaps with other mods, it could be worth while. I don't think I can finish NM Act II before Round #2 of the RFL starts ... so, ... I'll be back ... later ... sometime later ... expect me when you see me .

Edit:

Not bad for two attempts! That plus Hawkmail and a Partizan Insight should make Chalan pretty happy .

 

[Maltatai]

I feel like the most likely death scenario is getting lulled to sleep by how well things are going, and then something fast and sneaky comes up, bypasses his Bone Armor, and cuts through his itty-bitty life in the blink of an eye.

Gloam pack lightning volley? Repeated claw viper charges knocking him into constant hit recovery? Pit viper bone spears (the irony)? Scarab stair trap? Extra fast magic immune wailing beasts?

Bravely marched Sir Mordred
Out of Lut Gholein
He was not afraid to die, bold brave Sir Mordred
He was not at all afraid to face deeds in nasty ways
Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Mordred!
He was not in the least bit scared of the lightning from the gloam,
Or to have the viper charge, and be knocked off balance
To face a wailing beast and have his amour smashed away,
And his limbs all burned from scarabs, brave Sir Mordred!
His head smashed in and his heart cut out,
By a bone spear from vipers, how deeply unjust
And his pockets emptied as Gheed makes off
With his stashful of savings, so dubious...

I was going to contribute with an actual update but decided that casting taunt from a distance was a much more entertaining way to spend the time. I think Mordred would be well served by a healthy dose of MDR along with resistances, that should stop most things bypassing the bone armour. Since bone spear is so powerful he should have plenty of room to devote equipment to defenses.

 

[HanShotFirst]

Mordred, HC, SP, clvl 60, Bone Necro, N Kurast Docks

Brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Mordred!

Oh dear. I couldn't stop humming that while playing him. Perhaps it will remind me to pay attention to what I'm doing!

Mordred has cleared NM Act II!

It took much less time than I was expecting! The only significant source of trouble came from Unravelers and their Skeleton minions. In Nightmare Unravelers have 50% magic resistance and it showed. As a result it made much for sense for Chalan to deal with them ... but first he had to get to them. The good news was that Mordred of course has a most excellent skill (Corpse Explosion) for putting Skeleton corpses out of circulation. The bad news was that the Unravelers seemed pretty quick on the draw when it came to resurrecting their minions. Mordred would knock them down with Bone Spear, curse the surrounding Skeletons, and then by the time he was ready to start firing off corpse explosion, some Unraveler would have resurrected the Skeleton . As a result, it seemed like we ended up killing the same undead foes quite a few times ... So, not a big issue, but it was a bit annoying. The pinnacle of that annoyance came in the largest False Tomb (you know, the one with Kaa). It had Unravelers and a number of chambers that had Sarcophaguses. That led to, shall we say, some extended battles ...


At each Sarcophagus Mordred ended up doing blocking duty, while cursing for crowd control, and killing with Bone Spear, and clearing corpses with Corpse Explosion ... At the point I took the screenshot above, things were pretty calm. But as you can see from the floor around Mordred, it had been quite a heated battle! After clearing that huge tomb I was more than ready for a break .

But overall, things were good. After playing so many tournament restricted Bone Necros over the years (none of which made it to Guardian) it's been nice to play one that gets to use everything that's at his disposal!

Oh! And speaking of Bone Necros over the years ... I am totally sold on using Decrepify in place of Revives. It takes two less skill points to get, and I feel like it offers better protection/crowd control. I'm not sure why I didn't do this before ...


And of course, Decrepfiy is sure handy to have ready for bosses!

But now, let's talk drops! Mordred wasn't able to find a four socket armor. However, just prior to the Arcane Sanctuary, he was able to complete his eighth PTopaz. Three went into the helm. Four are in reserve for the armor. And the eighth, then could go into cubing an armor! It worked! And Mordred then had some pretty respectable mf that resulted in quite a haul!

Here's the set/uniques that resulted from a full clear of NM Act II at players 7:
(With 265 mf when Mordred killed, and 288 mf when the merc killed.)

Stormstrike, Short Battle Bow (Sewers Level 3)
Cleglaw's Tooth, Long Sword (Sewers Level 3)
Immortal King's Will, Avenger Guard (Rocky Waste)
Sigon's Visor, Great Helm (Dry Hills)
Sigon's Wrap, Plated Belt (Dry Hills)
Cathan's Mesh, Chain Mail (Halls of the Dead Level 1)
Cathan's Visage, Mask (Halls of the Dead Level 1)
Hwanin's Justice, Bill (Halls of the Dead Level 3)
Cleglaw's Pincers, Chain Gloves (Claw Viper Temple Level 1)
Cathan's Mesh, Chain Mail (Arcane Sanctuary)
Sigon's Sabot, Greaves (Arcane Sanctuary)
Kuko Shakaku, Cedar Bow (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Sigon's Sabot, Greaves (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Nagelring, Ring (Tal Rasha's False Tomb) <-- 27 mf.
Whitstan's Guard, Round Shield (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Sigon's Visor, Great Helm (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Hellcast, Heavy Crossbow (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Berserker's Hatchet, Double Axe (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Twitchthroe, Studded Leather (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Rattlecage, Gothic Plate (Tal Rasha's False Tomb) <-- Nice! CB that can go on the merc!
Bloodthief, Brandistock (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Tearhaunch, Greaves (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Kuko Shakaku, Cedar Bow (Tal Rasha's True Tomb)
Tancred's Skull, Bone Helm (Duriel)

So, we're starting to get some more interesting drops ... but are still looking for the diamonds in the rough.

However, we did achieve one of our item goals:

After spending all of NM Act II rebuilding our finances (after Gheed emptied our pockets), we gambled this circlet from Elzix, on our second attempt, right before going into Tal Rasha's True Tomb! I was thinking that 6% Life Leech was about as good as it could get ... and we also got two huge resistance rolls and damage reduction! Yep! Elzix is the man. I knew it! Don't shop at Gheed ... he's just the worst ...

Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  N Kurast Docks    60     2022-03-30 Yes  Yes  Yes  92    D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

Up next:
Round #2 of the RFL. And I mean it this time! I'm not even going to start NM Act III until that is done . Oh, and since this is where I often make asks of the RNG ... I'd like a Ber worth of runes ... Yep, that's it ... Not too much is it? ... Cool. Let's make it so!

 

[Maltatai]

Faulty Fortifications

Spoiler

Feofasias next part of the journey was the long-winded trek across the Frigid Highlands and Arreat Plateau towards its waypoint. Being so long and so time consuming due to the fortifications, and in hell potentially dangerous, I worried about gtting tired and losing focus. How to make it all easier? For one thing, instead of clearing the entirety of the highlands at once in a clumsy frontal assault Feofasia choose to stick to the southern side as much as possible. After pushing through to the waypoint in that manner she turned around and cleared up the rest from the wrong side, so to say. In tactical terms, she concentrated her forces on the demonic right wing and broke through, following up with an attack from the enemy rear. General principles are often applicable to RPG:s as well as RTS:s...

The dreaded Abaddon and Pit of Acheron should not be forgotten. Rightly feared nests of nasty creatures they are. Usually...

​

Feofasias bonus point in blade fury was certainly convenient against the various ranged creatures appearing above ground, such as burning dead archers, slingers and most of all carver shamans with their glacial spikes. Even if the enemy flees her malicious blade ensures that the time spent fleeing works in her favor and not theirs. Open Wounds at high levels is a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to Goblin Toe the shurikens were usable for weakening large monsters as well when the situation demanded. Even if you lack the opportunity to destroy a pack entirely it makes a huge difference if the minions are at half health and no longer regenerate.

​

I was so happy with being spared minotaur encounters that I continued even to the Crystalline Passage waypoint. Celebrating lacking minotaurs by plunging headfirst into the home of those...my logic is impeccable. There werent any there but there were howerver bone spear tossing claw vipers. On the upside there was also a well where fresh water from the Not-Entirely-Frozen River welled up which aided things a lot.

​

Feofasia is still at level 83, plottin the hunting down of all corrupted and nefarious users of the dark arts that cast the unbecoming spell Bone Spear, wherever they may hide. She hopes that such blackguards will end up in a sandy wretched hive of scum and villany where a scruffy-looking rogue shoots them first in the local bar, so the noble order of Assassins won't have to do the work.

 

[Maltatai]

Vile Vipers

Spoiler

The dreaded expedition to the Frozen River began moderately successful as ice trolls forced the party to retreat to the waypoint. After some manic mind blasting and weakening Feofasia could start to counterattack against the outlying parts of the mob.

​

The waypoint was fairly close to the cave but that was not much of a consolation when the defending force made itself known. Two out of three of the worst possible opposition...

​

I still wouldn't risk cloaking but the situation became quite unbearable with all the ranged attacks and viper charges preventing a quick rush against the succubi. Not the easiest of playing sessions to handle with the kids around, as was the case in this case. After a far too stressful foray along the river I quit the attempt.

The next time went better and I decided to risk cloaking again. I think the danger of crashes is lesser in areas without fixed installations like towers, sarcophagi and trapped souls and such. Weaken is a good replacement against melee enemies but not ranged casters with overpowered range. Feofasia is also far too weak to tank damage if she can avoid it. She only has her 39 % chance to block for defense and must rely on surprise to overpower the monsters with curses and freezing to stay safe. In that way she is a classical rogue character despite the indiscreet elemental totally-not-magics of the Diablo II assassin.

​

Succubi can be lured into blade fury range but it takes a lot of time and they are a bit too tough for it to be convenient. Despite the danger a rush is often most effective but you wil want a wall to pin them against. The lancers present the danger of a surprising counter rush in mostly the same way as vipers but at least they haven't got any charge attack and bone spears. I didn't dare to open any evil urns so there goes any full clear aspirations.

Anya did as usual leave impolitely without any word of goodbye or allowing her rescuers to use the portal.

​

With Anya rescued and Feofasia at level 84 the most fitting assassin target stands before her. Nihlatak and his tomb vipers hunger to make short work of a character without any damage reduction. Gambling away the spare gold on circlets didn't yield anything with PDR but a magekillers circlet that could be used to precast a powerful shadow warrior perhaps.

 

[HanShotFirst]

Mordred, HC, SP, clvl 66, Bone Necro, N Harrogath

All I do is win, win, win, win no matter what! Got set/uniques on my mind, I can never get enough.
(Yeah, I know. There's an extra 'win' in there. That's how much winning I was doing in NM Act IV!)

They say: 'Don't bury the lead'. So here's the good stuff:

Spoiler

Blackhorn's Face
Death Mask
Defense: 416
Durability: 11 of 11
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 45
Fingerprint: 0xabc50073
Item Level: 56
Version: Resurrected
Prevent Monster Heal
Slows Target by 20%
+220% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +15%
+20 Lightning Absorb
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 25
Ethereal

After a brief moment of 'Aaaah, it's not the set Death Mask', I got excited. Then I saw that it was eth, and I got more excited. Then I saw that it was perfect . Hello! For most scenarios I want life leech on the merc's helm. But for boss fights, Chalan will be wearing this!

Wohoo! Top possible drop! I see a Duress in Chalan's future .

Spoiler

Skin of the Vipermagi
Serpentskin Armor
Defense: 279
Durability: 18 of 24
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 43
Fingerprint: 0x8108ddbc
Item Level: 61
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
+30% Faster Cast Rate
+120% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +32
Magic Damage Reduced by 13

Thank you Grand Vizier! Mordred's most wanted item! And what a nice roll .

And then:

Spoiler

Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 101
Durability: 18 of 20
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x2d90fd72
Item Level: 62
Version: Resurrected
10% Mana stolen per hit
10% Life stolen per hit
+45 Defense
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
All Resistances +15

Chalan's most wanted item! And so appropriate too given that I insisted that Chalan get the kill for the little extra mf! Isn't it nice when things work out!

So, 'nuff said! NM Act V and then Hell, here I come! ...

... Yeah, right. As if I could stop at so few words . Since we're already talking drops, let's keep going ...

Here's the set/uniques that resulted from a full clear of NM Act III at players 7:
(With 265 mf when Mordred killed, and 288 mf when the merc killed.)

Leadcrow, Light Crossbow (Arachnid Lair)
Isenhart's Parry, Gothic Shield (Spider Forest)
Isenhart's Lightbrand, Broad Sword (Spider Forest)
Angelic Mantle, Ring Mail (Great Marsh)
Sigon's Visor, Great Helm (Great Marsh)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Great Marsh)
The Salamander, Battle Staff (Great Marsh)
Death's Touch, War Sword (Great Marsh)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Flayer Jungle)
Cleglaw's Tooth, Long Sword (Swampy Pit Level 3)
Coldkill, Hatchet (Flayer Jungle)
Sigon's Shelter, Gothic Plate (Flayer Jungle)
Cleglaw's Claw, Small Shield (Flayer Jungle)
Ichorsting, Crossbow (Flayer Jungle)
Angelic Halo, Ring (Lower Kurast)
Warlord's Trust, Military Axe (Kurast Bazaar)
Cathan's Visage, Mask (Sewers Level 1)
Sander's Riprap, Heavy Boots (Upper Kurast)
Angelic Halo, Ring (Upper Kurast)
Guardian Naga, Naga (Disused Reliquary)
Raven Frost, Ring (Durance of Hate Level 1) <-- From a chest. I thought it was going to be a lousy Nagel!
Cathan's Rule, Battle Staff (Durance of Hate Level 1)
Nagelring, Ring (Durance of Hate Level 2) <-- From a chest. 18 mf. There's that lousy Nagel .
Darkglow, Ring Mail (Mephisto)
Tearhaunch, Greaves (Mephisto)

And from a full clear of NM Act IV at players 7:

Blackhorn's Face, Death Mask (Outer Steppes)
Soulflay, Claymore (Plains of Despair)
Wall of the Eyeless, Bone Shield (City of the Damned)
Spineripper, Poignard (River of Flame)
Traps, GC (Chaos Sanctuary)
Angelic Sickle, Sabre (Chaos Sanctuary)
Skin of the Vipermagi, Serpentskin Armor (Chaos Sanctuary)
Sander's Riprap, Heavy Boots (Diablo)
Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest, Death Mask (Diablo)

Wow! The mf is working . Lots of set/uniques, and even some good ones! I don't know what I'm still looking for at this point, but I'll keep Mordred's high mf setup through NM Act V before switching to the good stuff going into Hell.


Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  N Harrogath       66     2022-04-05 Yes  Yes  Yes  126   D2R
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

Up next:
So far, so good. No need to change what's not broken. Let's keep rolling and see what I can find in NM Act V! ... Um, and also, I still need to finish the last 10 hours of Round #2 of the RFL ... I'm not sure which one I'll do first ...

 

[HanShotFirst]

Mordred, HC, SP, clvl 74, Bone Necro, H Rogue Encampment

Battered and beaten Baal, battles for breath before brave Bone-Necro:


NM Act V has been cleared at players 7!
... and so, the full clear of Normal and Nightmare is now complete ...

Progress through NM Act V continued to be pretty good. Things got slow enough in a few spots that I considered dropping the players setting or swapping out some mf gear. But, the lust for more drops carried the day, and I 'toughed it out' at players 7. Not that things ever got too 'tough'. I think much of the 'toughness' came from the comparison between this character, and my untwinked, but now very well equipped, Lightning Sorceress. After playing her (for Round #2 of the RFL), I suspect everything feels 'tough' in comparison. But, on his own merits, Mordred did quite well. Progress was steady, and he's yet to have a near death. Yes, things are good. Perhaps too good. The kind of good that makes you nervous ... Anyhow. There were a couple of points of interest.


These extra strong Witches spawned out of an Evil Urn right on top of Mordred's head . As you can see the Clay Golem got killed in the blink of an eye. Thanks to their cursed nature, Chalan followed moments after this screenshot. It would have been trouble but by then brave, brave, Sir Mordered was already half way across the bridge and well out of trouble . We regrouped in town and came back and stomped them. Still, it was exciting for a moment.


Here you can see brave, brave, Sir Mordred, as he bravely ran away, away. The Fanatic Plucked Chickens knocked the Clay Golem aside as though it wasn't even there. Chalan put up a valiant fight, but got stun locked and was murdered. Brave Sir Mordred then ran ... but not in panic. It was all part of the plan. Out the throne room, and down the hall he went. The Plucked Chickens in hot pursuit. When he reached a side chamber, he used the staff on switch to teleport back to the throne room. As usual, Baal was so alarmed by his sudden reappearance that he fled! Mordred then resurrected his battle buddies and returned to face the Plucked Chickens, who, with their supreme leader now gone, had lost all unit cohesion, and could be separated and killed one by one. Easy peasy. We then went and got Baal who was even easier thanks to slowing from Decrepify, slowing from the Clay Golem, and slowing from the Blackhorn's Face we found back in NM Act IV. With that much slowing, Baal didn't stand a chance ... or, um, really do much of anything at all .

Baal dropped a couple set/uniques, and we found many more throughout NM Act V, but sadly none that are likely to be of great use.

Here's the set/uniques that resulted from a full clear of NM Act V at players 7:
(With 265 mf when Mordred killed, and 288 mf when the merc killed.)

Angelic Halo, Ring (Bloody Foothills)
Lidless Wall, Grim Shield (Frigid Highlands) <-- Hmm. Interesting ...
Bladebuckle, Plated Belt (Frigid Highlands)
Isenhart's Case, Breast Plate (Arreat Plateau)
Sander's Taboo, Heavy Gloves (Arreat Plateau)
Doomslinger, Repeating Crossbow (Pit of Acheron)
Blackhorn's Face, Death Mask (Frozen River) <-- Nice. But Mordred already found a perfect eth Blackhorn's in NM Act IV.
Sigon's Guard, Tower Shield (Halls of Anguish) <-- Completes the set! ... not that I'm going to use it ...
Spineripper, Poignard (Halls of Anguish)
Raven Claw, Long Bow (Halls of Pain)
Isenhart's Case, Breast Plate (Halls of Vaught)
Hwanin's Refuge, Tigulated Mail (Halls of Vaught)
Plague Bearer, Rune Sword (Glacial Trail)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Glacial Trail)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Drifter Cavern)
Cathan's Visage, Mask (Frozen Tundra)
Cleglaw's Tooth, Long Sword (Frozen Tundra)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Gambled) <-- What?! Are we having a going out of business sale on these things!?
Rite of Passage, Demonhide Boots (Worldstone Keep Level 3)
Sigon's Visor, Great Helm (Throne of Destruction)
Sigon's Wrap, Plated Belt (Baal)
The Scalper, Francisca (Baal)

Vidala's Fetlock, Light Plated Boots (Cow King)
Tearhaunch, Greaves (Cow King)
Isenhart's Lightbrand, Broad Sword (The Secret Cow Level)

Hmm. Not bad in terms of volume. But I don't think there's anything there that I'm going to use. The Lidless Wall was the most interesting drop:



Lidless Wall
Grim Shield
Defense: 303
Chance to Block: 0
Durability: 49 of 70
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 58
Fingerprint: 0x90061399
Item Level: 62
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
+20% Faster Cast Rate
+101% Enhanced Defense
+10 to Energy
Increase Maximum Mana 10%
+3 to Mana after each Kill
+1 to Light Radius

As I look towards gearing for Hell, the FCR breakpoints worth knowing are: 30 (12 frames), 48 (11 frames), 75 (10 frames), and 125 (9 frames). Mordred has a 33% FCR Spirit Sword, a Vipermagi (30% FCR), a circlet with 20% FCR, and some blah 10% FCR rings. I think, for the time being, the 125 breakpoint is out. I could reach it with the Lidless Wall ... but I think I'd be sacrificing too much defense. I think, for now, I'll focus on 75 FCR. I'll also probably roll some crafted Caster Belts and see what additional options I can get .

As for Chalan, I found some mid runes in NM Act V ... well actually, The Secret Cow Level:





Not bad for one pass through The Secret Cow Level. But I still haven't found a Lem Rune ... So, here's Mordred's Hel+ Runes, going into Hell:

Hel Rune - 1
Io Rune - 2
Lum Rune - 1
Ko Rune - 3
Um Rune - 1 <-- From the Hellforge.

So, without a Lem Rune, Duress is far and away the leading choice for Chalan. I suppose the biggest question is: Make it in an exceptional armor? ... Or wait for an elite? I've got a three socket, 284 def, Embossed Plate, that I'm thinking of calling good enough ... but I haven't decided for sure just yet ...

Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  H Rogue Camp      74     2022-04-13 Yes  Yes  Yes  151   D2R
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

Up next:
Time to do some work gearing for Hell. I've got some options, and some resources. Let's see what I can come up with! Also, Patch 2.4 is just about to drop. It will buff Mordred ... a bit. How much? I guess I'll have to sort out my gear and do a before and after comparison .

 

[HanShotFirst]

Mordred, HC, SP, clvl 79, Bone Necro, H Lut Gholein

And just like that, we're down to the final four acts!



Hell Act I has been fully cleared at players 3!

It was a cake walk, once I found the time. First there was the RFL. Then D2R v2.4 caused the great GoMule migration. Then more RFL. Then work. But at long last, Mordred got a chance to test out D2R v2.4! The big change that affected Mordred was that the Bone Spear synergies went from +7% damage, to +8% damage. Did Bone Necros need need a damage boost? I would have said 'no'. But, it was just about the smallest damage boost possible, and I wouldn't say that I now felt 'massively OP'. Mordred's listed Bone Spear damage went from 1169-1243 pre-v2.4, to 1300-1382 post v2.4. A good little boost, but not so much that I wanted to play at a higher players setting than P3. So, I guess what I'm saying is that I'm rather indifferent to the damage boost. I could have lived without it, and I didn't find it to be super game changing.

What was super game changing for Mordred was his gear changes prior to starting Hell. I dropped a lot of mf and instead focused on plus skills and faster cast rate.

Here's what Mordred is using:

Rare Circlet, +1 Necromancer Skills, +20% FCR, +8 All Resistances
Rare Amulet, +2 Necromancer Summoning Skills, +19 Strength, +22 Cold Resist, +20 MF
Skin of the Vipermagi, +32 All Resistances, +13 MDR
Spirit Eth Crystal Sword, +33% FCR, 107 Mana, 7% Magic Absorb
Three PDiamond Kite Shield
Magic Gauntlets, +26 Lightning Resist, +19 MF
Magic Plated Belt, +27 Fire Resist, +50 Life
Rare Light Plated Boots, +22 Cold Resist, +14 Lightning Resist, Half Freeze Duration, Poison Length Reduced by 25%, +22 MF
Nagelring, +27 MF
Rare Ring, +14 Cold Resist, +14 MF
Resistance, Life, and Mana Charms
Teleport Staff, on switch

and the Merc:

Tal's Helm
Hawkmail Tigulated Mail, 95% ED
Insight Partizan

Here's the result of that gear:



I'd say the most important thing to notice is that Mordred is now hitting the 75% FCR breakpoint. 10 frame casting feels really good. The next breakpoint is 125%, which is not impossible. As you can see, I've got plenty of stat points saved for a potential Spirit Monarch Shield. Now, I did find a white Monarch Shield early:



Too early. So early I didn't really appreciate the drop. So, instead of using Mordred's available NM socket quest, I took the 50/50 and rolled it in the cube. It got three sockets . I found one other Monarch Shield, in the Pit Level 1, it came with two sockets. So, I guess it's a good thing that I'm feeling good with the setup that I have ...

The merc's gear is another obvious area for improvement. I found one elite polearm that could be socketed, a white Thresher in the Tower Cellar Level 4. Odds weren't good for four sockets, but, I had the extra runes and gave it a roll ... no luck. On the armor front, I have that Um Rune from the NM Hellforge. I was considering making Duress, but decided that I'd wait for an elite armor. No luck yet on that front either. Perhaps it's just as well, the CBF on the Hawkmail is much appreciated.

So that's what Mordred is all about at this point, full clears, looking for elite items with sockets. To that end, mf isn't too important. I kept as much as possible around the edges but didn't make it a priority. The result was a lower, but still decent number set/uniques.

Here's the set/uniques that resulted from a full clear of Hell Act I at players 3:
(With 102 mf when Mordred killed, and 125 mf when the merc killed.)

Kinemil's Awl, Giant Sword (Blood Moor)
The Diggler, Dirk (Stony Field)
Blade of Ali Baba, Tulwar (Underground Passage Level 1)
Trang-Oul's Guise, Bone Visage (Underground Passage Level 2)
Butcher's Pupil, Cleaver (Hole Level 2)
Sigon's Wrap, Plated Belt (Tower Cellar Level 2)
Milabrega's Orb, Kite Shield (Jail Level 1)
The Battlebranch, Poleaxe (Jail Level 3)
Hawkmail, Scale Mail (Catacombs Level 3)
Hellplague, Long Sword (Andariel)
The Ward, Gothic Shield (Andariel)
Bonesnap, Maul (Andariel)
Hsarus' Iron Heel, Chain Boots (Andariel)

So, obviously Andariel really helped boost the total! Still, not too bad for only ~100 mf. The big standout was Trang-Oul's Guise:



Pretty cool to get a TC 84 out of the newly minted level 85 area . And extra style points for it being part of the Necromancer set! Too bad it doesn't have any partial set bonuses though ... Oh well. Still a neat find!

Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  H Lut Gholein     79     2022-05-03 Yes  Yes  Yes  164   D2R
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

Up next:
Things are good, but could be even better! I'm hoping to find a four socket Monarch Shield, and a four socket elite polearm. I've still got the NM socket quest left to use ... seems like I ought to be able to get one of those done!

 

[HanShotFirst]

And we interrupt our regular update schedule with this breaking news bulletin:

While clearing the relentless undead hordes in the Halls of the Dead:


Our brave hero came across his first white/grey elite polearm of Hell Act II:


Could it be? Might it be ...

Spoiler

Oh my G-O-S-H, it is! Four sockets and more!

You know what that means. It's time for everyone's favorite single pass, untwinked, sub-game:

(Say it with me in unison.)
CAN-YOU-EQUIP-THAT-COLOSSUS-VOULGE!?

Now admittedly, this is the junior or perhaps celebrity edition of that game. As our Colossus Voulge is eth we *only* need to get from the 181 strength that our merc has at level 80, to 200 strength ... which is much easier than getting to the full 210 strength required for a regular Colossus Voulge. Remember contestants, we still have the NM socket reward at our disposal. Our merc is currently using Tal's helm, and a single upped Hawkmail. On your marks. Get set. GO!

Okay. Tal's helm has resistances, life, and most importantly, is our merc's source of life leech. It's not going anywhere. That means the Hawkmail is out. CBF is nice, but not necessary. So what to replace it with? We've found 164 set/uniques so far, some of them must have plus strength! And indeed, we've found not one, but two Twitchthroes (10 strength, 20 IAS). Maybe up one, socket Tal's helm with a PAmethyst, and we're done! But, if we're not going to use our Um Rune on a Duress for the merc, that means we could socket it into the Vipermagi for the Necro ... that would all but solve the resistance loss caused by a planned future transition from a three PDiamond shield to a Spirit shield. Okay. Back to the drawing board. Well, we could always shop something in Hell Act I. A artisan's armor of amicae, socketed with two PAmethysts and perhaps a jewel of fervor would work ... But how long would it take to shop? Wait just a minute! Mordred found a bunch of Ko Runes in NM ... How many? Let's see ... Three! That'll do it folks! It's Lionheart time!

So we gathered our supplies:


Failed to get the 2/3 chance for a three socket roll on the eth Cuirass. And after going back into the extended stash and getting a non-eth three socket Cuirass, created:


And:

Poor damage roll ... but the high critical strike roll might make up for it! In any event ...

Here was the merc's stats:


And now:


Now that's an upgrade! Sure he lost CBF ... but I think more than double the damage is well worth it!

And so comes to a close another round of:

(Say it with me in unison.)
CAN-YOU-EQUIP-THAT-COLOSSUS-VOULGE!?

 

[HanShotFirst]

Mordred, HC, SP, clvl 84, Bone Necro, H Kurast Docks

So much for the lesser evils!

Now we're down to three prime evils standing between Mordred and Guardian ...

Yes, Hell Act II has been cleared at players 3!

The big development was finding that eth Colossus Voulge ... and none too soon! Hell Act II has plenty of magic immunes, which might have been annoying, had the merc not been wielding a dread-doomsday-weapon-of-the-apocalypse. Yes, the game did it's worst, with magic immunes pretty much everywhere you could spawn magic immunes, but we cut through them all! Well, mostly the merc did ... but, Mordred did get off some nice corpse explosion chains, and keeping Decrepify up is nothing to overlook I suppose.

Still, there were a few bumps in the road. All of them involved 'Guardians' . Generally they weren't too much of a probelm. Corpse Explosion is great for getting their skeleton friends out of play. Barring that you can always just lead the skeletons away ... But, Guardians plus Sarcophaguses were another story ... The mummies keep coming and coming ... and the Guardians keep healing and resurecting them ... and there's clouds of poison ... and the merc isn't targeting what he needs to be targeting to stop the cycle . So, much as he had during NM Act II, Mordred again had to take matters into his own hands:



Blocking the Sarcophaguses seemed to be the best solution ... though it resulted in Mordred being open to taking quite a bit of damage. Note, in the screenshot above, Mordred's Bone Armor is down and he's out of health potions ... both of those things were extremely rare occurrences. The good news was, turns out he's pretty durable. Since he never gets hit, I really didn't know . After using him in such a manner I felt much less worried about getting randomly one-shotted by some monster! Still, it's not really how I want to play him ... so it's nice to be bidding all those tombs farewell!

Here's the souvenirs that resulted from a full clear of Hell Act II at players 3:
(With 102 mf when Mordred killed, and 125 mf when the merc killed.)

Culwen's Point, War Sword (Sewers Level 1)
Wall of the Eyeless, Bone Shield (Dry Hills)
Tal Rasha's Lidless Eye, Swirling Crystal (Claw Viper Temple Level 1)
Iratha's Cuff, Light Gauntlets (Claw Viper Temple Level 1)
Viperfork, Mancatcher (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Bloodfist, Heavy Gloves (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
The Grim Reaper, War Scythe (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
Sander's Taboo, Heavy Gloves (Tal Rasha's False Tomb)
The Oculus, Swirling Crystal (Duriel)

So, we went big on finding Heavy Gloves, and Swirling Crystals! The Viperfork would have been an awesome find for a set/unique worshiper ... though, compared to an eth Insight Colossus Voulge, it sure doesn't look too great ...


Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  H Kurast Docks    84     2022-05-05 Yes  Yes  Yes  173   D2R
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

Up next:
Well, we got the merc's equipment all squared away. Perhaps now we can find that four socketed Monarch Shield for Mordred. Though, if not, no big deal. Mordred is doing fine and the merc is now a real bruiser!

 

[JoeBruce]

@HanShotFirst Use more curses. You can neutralize guardians' resurrecting abilities with dim vision (or attract, or confuse). Dim vision is also handy against gloams, to reduce the insane amount of lightning attacks streaking across the screen.

I have a Bone Necro as one of my few guardians, and I've always found Necromancers in general safe to play because of the wide array of curses. Worth it to put a point in almost all of them.

 

[HanShotFirst]

@JoeBruce - Thanks for the ideas! I've always 'cheaped out' when it comes to putting points into curses. For me, putting the four skill points into the Curses tree to get to Decrepify was already a major expenditure! My thinking tends to go: Those other curses would very, very, rarely get used. Bone Spear gets used all the time. Let's put points into Bone Spear synergies. But, I could be wrong. The quality of life improvements that come with having all those curses readily available could be well worth the points! I'll have to try it out some time ... Heck, the game's only been out 20 years ... I'm sure I'll get around to it at some point ...

Also, thanks for reading! I wasn't sure if anyone was even looking at these posts. For the final couple posts I was thinking of just posting some screenshots with some random paragraphs copied from Wikipedia ... But now that I know that at least one person is reading ...

Mordred, HC, SP, clvl 86, Bone Necro, H Harrogath

The end is near!





Hell Act III and Act IV have been cleared at players 3.

Sharp eyed readers may have noticed a jump in Mordred's life and mana from the Mephisto to the Diablo screenshot. After not finding anything for Mordred himself in Hell Act I and Act II, (though the merc sure got some upgrades), stuff started to drop for our Necro hero in Hell Act III!

First, this neat amulet dropped somewhere in or around the Flayer Jungle (in the screenshot we've just turned in the Gidbinn .. and,um, sold a bunch of stuff ).

Ah-ha! The solution to the resistance loss that would come from transitioning from a three Pdiamond shield to a Spirit shield. Now we just need the Monarch shield ...

Then in Upper Kurast:

Spoiler

Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band
Ring
Required Level: 58
Fingerprint: 0xe829bc0
Item Level: 84
Version: Resurrected
+1 to All Skills
3% Life stolen per hit
+43 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+50 Maximum Stamina

Well that's a surprise! I swapped out Mordred's rare ring with +14 Cold Resistance, and +14 MF, for the BK ring, and made up the resistances with charms. That resulted in a nice little boost to life and skills .

The next big drop came from an object in the Outer Steppes:

So far in Hell, Mordred's found one white Monarch. It came in the Mausoleum and cubed to three sockets . Well, no mistakes (or options) this time. We're showing this to NM Larzuk!

After getting to a good stopping point at the City of the Damned WP, we traveled to NM and made:

Great magic absorb roll ... and I like the mana roll ... but that FCR could be a problem. The goal is to get to 125 FCR. Mordred has 33 FCR on his Spirit sword, 30 FCR on his Vipermagi, and 20 FCR on his rare circlet (83 total). Well, let's see what we can do to get to 125 FCR!

First, we rolled as many caster belts as possible ... which turned out to be ten. Ten caster belts were also crafted before starting Hell, but none of them were very good. This time, there was a clear favorite:

Nice stats all around! But only 6 FCR ... Still, that could be good enough ... Add a 10 FCR ring and that gets us to ... 124 FCR . Okay. I like the magic absorb and mana on that Spirit shield but I've got to reroll it. Mordred had one Hel Rune ... and could cube one or two more depending on how many runes I wanted to dedicate to the project. Fortunately it didn't come to that. On the first reroll:

Well, that's good enough! An even better mana roll, still pretty good magic absorb, and most importantly, it puts Mordred past the 125 FCR breakpoint.

So, now Mordred just needed to make up some fire resistance ... To that end, ten safety gloves were crafted. And we got lucky:

Those are some pretty nice gloves! So with that ...

Here's what Mordred is using:

Rare Circlet, +1 Necromancer Skills, +20% FCR, +8 All Resistances
Magic Amulet, +29 All Resistances, +64 Life
Skin of the Vipermagi, +32 All Resistances, +13 MDR
Spirit Eth Crystal Sword, +33 FCR, 107 Mana, 7% Magic Absorb
Spirit Monarch Shield, +30 FCR, 107 Mana, 5% Magic Absorb
Crafted Gauntlets, +10 Cold Resist, +27 Fire Resist, 3 DR, 2 MDR, +62 GF, +18 MF
Crafted Sharkskin Belt, +6 FCR, +10 FHR, +28 Strength, 11 Mana, Regenerate Mana 8%, +22 Cold Resist, +16 Lightning Resist
Rare Light Plated Boots, +22 Cold Resist, +14 Lightning Resist, Half Freeze Duration, Poison Length Reduced by 25%, +22 MF
Magic Ring, +10 FCR, +22 Fire Resist
Bul-Kathos' Ring
Resistance, Life, and Mana Charms
Teleport Staff, on switch

and the Merc:

Tal's Helm
Lionheart Cuirass
Insight Eth Colossus Voulge, 208% ED, +5 Critical Strike, Level 12 Meditation Aura

Nice! 9 Frame casting, +7 to skills, maxed resists, some damage reduction and absorbs, good life and mana ... Could an untwinked, single pass Necro reasonably ask for anything more? Perhaps some more MF ...

Still, Mordred did have some good finds.

Here's the complete list of set/uniques that resulted from a full clear of Hell Act III at players 3:
(With 102 mf when Mordred killed, and 125 mf when the merc killed.)

Natalya's Shadow, Loricated Mail (Spider Forest) <-- Three sockets!
Boneslayer Blade, Gothic Axe (Great Marsh)
Witchwild String, Short Siege Bow (Great Marsh)
Deathspade, Axe (Flayer Dungeon Level 1)
Immortal King's Stone Crusher, Ogre Maul (Swampy Pit Level 1)
Duskdeep, Full Helm (Lower Kurast)
Witherstring, Hunter's Bow (Disused Fane)
Bul-Kathos' Wedding Band, Ring (Upper Kurast)
Sigon's Wrap, Plated Belt (Durance of Hate Level 1)
Culwen's Point, War Sword (Durance of Hate Level 2)
Isenhart's Case, Breast Plate (Durance of Hate Level 2)
Isenhart's Case, Breast Plate (Durance of Hate Level 2) <-- Yes, two in a row.
Steeldriver, Great Maul (Mephisto)

and in Hell Act IV
(With 40 mf when Mordred's new gear was equipped, and 63 mf when the merc killed.)

The Dragon Chang, Spear (City of the Damned)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (City of the Damned)
Death's Touch, War Sword (Diablo)

I suspect that with only 40 mf there won't be many set/unique finds in Hell Act V ... But then again, I've already found everything that I could want with this character, so no worries! Though, I suppose I could still find some runes ...

And speaking of runes, I had a new highest rune drop in Act III (excluding the Um Rune from the NM Hellforge):


Until it was topped in Act IV:


The Hellforge dropped a Pul Rune:


Those runes open up some interesting armor choices for the merc. At clvl 86, he's now got 192 strength (naked). If I use the Hell socket quest reward on Tal's Helm and insert a PAmethyst he could use any armor that I might want ... I'm considering Duress, and Treachery. But mostly Treachery ... the IAS could really help him swing that Eth Colossus Voulge! Hmm, looks like his attacks would go from 8 frames to 6 frames ... Yeah, I'll probably do that!

Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  H Harrogath       86     2022-05-09 Yes  Yes  Yes  189   D2R
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

Up next:
Well, it's all come down to this! It's either Guardian or bust! And, um, I'd really prefer Guardian. So, I'm preceding with confidence, but also caution ... Hope to see you all on the other side .

 

[HanShotFirst]

And, it's a wrap! ...

Mordred, HC, SP, clvl 87, Bone Necro, Guardian

We defeated Baal:


Got a nice new title:

(Though thanks to @Maltatai , I think he'll forever most be known as Brave, Brave, Sir Mordred)

And then cleansed the last evil left in the lands:
(Yep, that's a full clear of Normal, Nightmare, and Hell! Not one monster, evil urn, or evil anything, left standing anywhere!)

Final stats after the last cow fell ...

And so, that's it! Hell Act V was cleared at players 3, (players 1 at Ancients ... because, why risk it?), and players 1 at The Secret Cow Level ... because, it'd be a real shame to trip and fall after the finish line ). But anyhow, players 3 felt good! Mordred got to face everything that Hell Act V can throw at a character and came out on top! There were Slingers with their piercing javelins. Dolls in the side areas. Frenzytaurs pretty much everywhere you can spawn Frenzytaurs. Hell Witches, again, pretty much everywhere you can spawn Hell Witches . Horadrim Ancients made a return. And yes, there were Gloams!

Here were some of my top foes:

This Frenzytaur was probably the deadliest foe we faced. The unique snake right behind him was cursed (as you can see). Fanaticism, Frenzytaurs, and Amplify Damage ... not a good combination . I used Bone Prison, and kept as much distance as possible, but the merc still died ... a few times ... before we managed to get through all of that big baddies' hit points. The phrase 'run away, run away', comes to mind.


As I said before, Hell Witches were everywhere. But the Frozen River was special because it had both types of orb shooting Hell Witches in the one area ... I know, I know, you can only see the one kind in the screenshot above, but it just really captured the scene for me ... You're always cursed with Amplify Damage, you run into a new area, and are greeted by a dozen deadly orbs heading your way . On that went, over, and over, and over. The good news was, it wasn't too hard to combat. Just run around with summon Clay Golem ready on right click. When you see monsters, drop the Clay Golem on them. Then cast Decrepify. By then, resummon Clay Golem (because he's probably already taken a lot of damage), and then Mordred gets to get busy doing damage himself! Still, the Frozen River kept us on our toes!


More Frenzytaurs. This one was special because it was one of the few unbreakable PIs we faced. Oh yes. And it was Extra Strong ... and pretty close to the entrance ... and to add insult to injury ... magic resistant . But not magic immune! Mordred got the last laugh!


This wild scene is Mordred hitting clvl 87 in the Icy Cellar, which in addition to Snapchip's pack of Frozen Creepers, had as you can see, Frenzytaurs, Gloams, and not pictured ... but you can see a few of their orbs, Hell Witches . Yep, the big three baddies all in one little place ... In the immortal words of Darkwing Duck: Let's get dangerous.


And speaking of dangerous (and no, I didn't screenshot every Frenzytaur pack) ... Look! And Extra Strong Frenzytaur, with a Holy Freeze Aura, right by the entrance! Any one of those factors would have been annoying ... all three made him screenshot worthy .


And last, but not least, I've been waiting for the bit of black screen that happens when loading in the Throne of Destruction (in D2R) to cause a problem. Here it finally did. A salvo from a group of champion Burning Souls, plus a few regular ones, dropped Mordred's life bulb by half. The screenshot above is after a full rejuvenation potion, but before the merc died . Well, if it was any easier, it just wouldn't have been fun! The Throne of Destruction also had even more Hell Witches ... one of them had a Conviction Aura ... good thing it wasn't hanging out at the entrance ... what an end to the adventure that would have been ...

But it was not Mordred's end, but Baal's, and all his baddies!

Gear remained unchanged from my previous post, except, as I had suggested in my last post, I went ahead and used the Hell socket reward quest on the merc's Tal's helm. I then realized that I had spent all my PAmethysts crafting caster belts . No real harm done though. I found my third flawless amethyst early in the Arreat Plateau:

And after socketing the PAmethyst in Tal's helm, created:

Treachery
Wire Fleece
ShaelThulLem
Defense: 425
Durability: 16 of 32
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 111
Fingerprint: 0xf87f28ee
Item Level: 80
Version: Resurrected
5% Chance to cast level 15 Fade when struck
25% Chance to cast level 15 Venom on striking
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
3 Sockets (3 used)

For the merc, dropping his attack from 8 frames to 6 frames . Um, yeah. With the merc being armed with an eth Colossus Voulge Insight ... I sure wouldn't want to fight him! He still died here and there ... mostly to the super nasty types of monsters pictured up above ... But overall, he was one hard hitting, tanky fighter! I think his ultimate test was against Baal's Plucked Chickens ... could we face them down without leaving the Throne Room? Turns out, yes we could! Sure there was some help from Decrepify and the Clay Golem, but it's rare for me to be able to stand and fight foes of that caliber on a single pass, untwinked character! I suppose that brings me to:

Final Thoughts:

This character was fun! His progress got interrupted, a lot, but it wasn't because I wasn't interested in playing him! I just had other D2 commitments . In terms of gameplay, I was thinking that Mordred perhaps wasn't as rewarding as my last HC, untwinked, single pass, Guardian, Frealaf (Bonesnap Berserker Barb), but then I realized that Mordred did perhaps have some finds to rival Frealaf's Bonesnap. The rare circlet with +1 to Necromancer Skills and 20 FCR was quite special. It was the result of the Normal imbue quest reward, and came from the first white circlet that Mordred found! How often does that happen?! That the Normal imbue quest reward gets used at all, let alone at endgame! Also, NM Act IV was pretty epic. A perfect eth Blackhorn's Face, a 33@ Vipermagi, and Tal's helm! Yep, NM Act IV setup the merc, and setup Mordred to be able to get to the final casting breakpoint! Hitting that final 9 frame breakpoint is when Mordred really started to feel special. Sure, you could play a Bone Necro through the game with any junk gear. But getting to the final casting breakpoint on a single pass, untwinked character, I guess that is rather special! Oh, and a BK ring! Yes, I guess Mordred did score some style points in the end!

Wait!

Speaking of sytle points, a big question (for me) going into Hell Act V, was whether or not Mordred would hit the 200 set/uniques found mark. He only needed eleven. But then again, he only had 40 mf ... 63 mf when the merc killed. Did he make it?

Spoiler

Naj's Circlet, Circlet (Frigid Highlands)
Djinn Slayer, Ataghan (Pit of Acheron)
Sigon's Visor, Great Helm (Glacial Trail)
Berserker's Hatchet, Double Axe (Halls of Anguish)
Isenhart's Case, Breast Plate (Halls of Pain)
Tancred's Skull, Bone Helm (Frozen Tundra)
M'avina's Icy Clutch, Battle Gauntlets (Worldstone Keep Level 2)
Iratha's Coil, Crown (Baal)
Cleglaw's Tooth, Long Sword (Baal)

Skewer of Krintiz, Sabre (The Cow King)
Isenhart's Parry, Gothic Shield (The Cow King)

Ta-da! An even 200 set/uniques found . It wasn't looking good, but Baal and The Cow King delivered big!

Okay. And now with that important business cleared up, let's make this official!


Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  Guardian          87     2022-05-11 Yes  Yes  Yes  200   D2R

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

Up next:
For Mordred, retirement. If he only gets one life, the monsters should only get one life ... it only seems fair . As far as he's concerned, the world has been forever saved, and the last evil cleansed from the land! For me, time to get serious about my would-be-UT99er Das-Omen! Mordred, and Frealaf before him, have been fun, but now it's time to get leveling!

 

[Maltatai]

Very huge congratulations, an epic journey indeed. Thanks for the continued reports of Sir Mordreds brave exploits.

 

[JoeBruce]

@HanShotFirst I looked at my bone necro just now, and he just has extra points invested for dim vision, confuse, and attract. I did not use them often, especially since I had a really great necro head with +3 revive (and plus to bone spear and spirit) that gave me solid crowd control (along with bone wall and prison). However, those types of curses can really come in handy, especially if you are playing untwinked/single pass and sometimes need the extra trick up your sleeve. I figure the little bit of damage I lose is okay because of the utility I get in return. Another option in your scenario would be terror, as that's a prerequisite for decrepify.

And honestly, I wasn't reading your whole journey. I saw the thread pop onto page 1 and skimmed through it, reading a few of your posts since they were the only recent ones

I do enjoy reading the adventures, and will likely add a character to this thread, especially now that it seems none are really active. Congrats on the Guardian!

 

[lizard]

Time for a new character to enter the Quest for Guardians.

Introducing Deanna

I started a Freezing Arrow Amazon a while ago with finds from Hyman the Winddruid and played her through normal and nightmare, but now on the last leg of the journey i thought I would add her here.
Gear progression was as follows:
lvl 6: Arctic Set
into
lvl 15: Irathas + Ravenclaw
into
lvl 30: Irathas + Wizendraw + Peace

The Arctic Set was actually dealing more damage than Ravenclaw, so i think I would stick with Arctic set until lvl 30, which is probably even better now with 2.4 buffs.
This last set-up is incredibly potent on Nightmare, even at p8 and I was able to farm Pindle for a while to gain some levels before entering Hell.

Now in Act 1 Hell Deanna wears:

Head: Iratha's Coil
Body: Smoke in Serpentskin Armor
Weap1: Wizendraw Shael
Weap2: Harmony in +2 Bow and Crossbow Skills Stag Bow
Gloves: Iratha's Cuff
Belt: Iratha's Cord
Boots: Sapphire Light Plated Boots of Luck
Ring: Nagel
Ring: Nagel
Amulet: Iratha's Collar

Inventory:
2x Fletcher's Grand Charm
and the rest filled with an assortment of cold damage sc, lc and gcs

I want to try and beat Hell with this set-up and try to max out the resistances to 85 with some res charms, that is why I opted for Smoke instead of Peace for now. Harmony on switch is for Exploding Arrow until I find a base for Melody.
Non Cold immune monsters do not give me too much trouble, and CIs are taken care off by the Merc and whittled down with Exploding Arrows. I'll be looking for a Lower Res wand and see how that goes.


Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard           Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  Guardian          87     2022-05-11 Yes  Yes  Yes  200   D2R

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
Vang             Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM   55     2022-02-06 No   Yes  No   -     D2R
lizard           Deanna           Amazon Rogue Camp   H    72     2022-05-14 No   Yes  No   -     D2L

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
-                -                -      -                 -      -          -    -    -    -     -

 

[abridged]

Been playing a bit less lately. After the rune finding 3 tourney, I was motivated to guardian another character. I've been using the sorc too long

I went complete opposite; barb. It's been a long time and I'm trying to figure most things out without going off of a build. My first attempt with persistence was going ok until he got two shot by meph. That was certainly the earliest I've lost someone, and has kept me weary with lars. persistence also had his merc turn invisible during the duriel fight; so there were signs something was off

so, back to lars who is weary. which is good! lars had some very good early luck. normal andy:






and in act 2:







and there were some memes along the way:








guerilla tactics and over-planning this time at meph




and the same went for big D and the ancients








took a while to separate







found this while leveling - currently using with berserk







made these in act 1 nm




I didn't do write ups for them earlier - but I've added in my other deeds and one guardian





Completed Guardians

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level      Date          UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----     ----------     ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
lizard                  Hyman            Druid  Guardian          82     2022-03-16 Yes  Yes  No   223   D2L
HanShotFirst     Mordred          Necro  Guardian          87     2022-05-11 Yes  Yes  Yes  200   D2R
abridged           sanity               Sorc      Guardian         94     Nov22         No  Yes  No   ?       D2R

Questing Heroes

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP           Level      Date             UT   E/S  SP   S/U     Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------       -----  ----------          ---  ---  ---    ----      -------
Vang              Annihilation     Druid  Kurast Docks NM     55     2022-02-06   No   Yes  No   -     D2R
lizard              Deanna           Amazon Rogue Camp   H    72     2022-05-14   No   Yes  No   -     D2L
abridged        lars                  Barb     Lut Gholein NM       47      2022-05-22   Yes  Yes  No   -      D2R

The Fallen

Spoiler: The Fallen

Forumite         Character        Class  Furthest WP       Level  Date       UT   E/S  SP   S/U   Version
---------------  ---------------  -----  ----------------  -----  ---------- ---  ---  ---  ----  -------
abridged          persistence     Barb  Durance of Hate   23  Apr22     Yes  Yes  No  -     D2R
abridged          druid               Druid Flayer Jungle H    80  Oct22     Yes  Yes  No  -     D2R
abridged          vanilla             Sorc  RoF NM                 55  Nov22    No   Yes  No -      D2R

 

[Maltatai]

Even Viler Vipers

Spoiler

Feofasia has plunged into the dark dungeons of despair inhabited by the archetypical corrupt mage her class is supposed to enjoy hunting. Not that anyone enjoys a visit to Nihlatahk. His upper levels held a mixed force of minotaurs, reanimated hordes, goat men, zealots and hierophants, quill beasts, fallen ones and apes. The hierophants were quite irritating as they forced Feofasias party to advance to catch and disrupt them, which drew in ever more melee units to their aid. This fellow was uncomfortable to face with chargers nearby.

​

An inventory full of these would have been VERY interesting to play with along with open wounds and blade fury.

​

At the second last stair trap spot in the game Feofasia cloaked at lightning speed, looked around, and found...an empty spot. No immediate danger. As they edged forward a barrage of cold arrows slamme dinto the shadow which was soon after a mere shadow of herself. Returned archers are nasty for minions, nasty I say! Blade fury proved invaluable and I have been thoroughly convinced how shortsighted it was when I planned the character without taking into account the need for a ranged option when the character scares the enemy away. Open wounds is godly by itself, but it is only when you can also attack actively from afar that the Face of Horror truly shines.

​

And yes, there they were...

​

Alhizeer insanely enough survived the ordeal despite lacking a PDR rig, not even wearing the full plate of amicae I had stashed for this very occasion. His life went down to a sliver several times but always clung the bar until Feofasia could toss him a potion or portal to Malah. The shadow fell apart every odd step, which was quite disappointing. It is a weak minion, but I had expected a little better performance from it.

Now only the ancients remain as a really frightening threat. Thanks to Alhizeers astounding endurance and slowing capability along with Feofasias weakening curses and shadow, I am confident she could deal with them so long as they are separated at least. Speaking of which, she happens to have an entrapping amulet of teleportation waiting to be put to use.

 

[Vang]

It has been a long while. I have started AXER. A homage to D1 and using a paladin that must use Two-handed axes only. The ruleset is simple. Axe your way through Hell, slaying all of those you oppose you.
But what if AXER fails to achieve? No fret, AXER may use any item saved from a previous attempts. Sooner or later, AXER shall prevail!

Axer immediately went into the blood moor and looted while gaining just enough strength to equip a Large Axe. He has recently drove the blade of the axe into Andariel's skull and she was nice enough to drop a skull gem.
Lucky, Axer has keen insights and was able to use that skull and visit two shrines in the Stony Field that made it stronger and now it has been perfected. What shall I do with this? I shall know when the time is right to thrust this skull into a socket of my favorite equipment piece. Or I might find a useful way for it to become something else.