The 12 Labors Tournament

[Quickdeath]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

[HIGHLIGHT]Rules Clarifications[/HIGHLIGHT]

Answering JimmyofJudacca:Yes, the rules are clear, you may not use Leap or teleport in the Drifter Canyon, but you may use Leap or teleport on the Glacial Trail. [And, yes, there was a reason that I designed it that way.] JDkerr's account did not specifically say that he used Leap in the Drifter Canyon, but if he did so then that was a disqualifier as well.


Answering purplelocust:
1. First welcome!
2. you are correct that Quilted Armor is meant to be included as a non-metallic armor item. I am editing the rules in the first post to correct that and include Quilted Armor. Thanks for catching that.
3. In Blister Lister, the requirement is that you have at least 200% MF on your armor - all armor, not just the body armor. This is a fairly nominal level for a MF character and is consistent with the "Vengeance of the Magic Finders" premise for Blister Lister. It is intended to slightly increase the difficulty of the Blister Lister task and force you to make choices on your gear.

Answering Krupa: Well, I am confused. I wrote the Decease DeSeis rules such that they require that your A2 Merc wield a weapon socketed with 6 runes spelling out DeSeis - but Krupa states that Polearms and Spears with 6 sockets are not available in A4 NM.

I've just done some quick research. Weapons that are ilvl =41 or higher are eligible to get their maximum possible number of sockets. That means that 4 normal weapons (spetum, pike, halberd and war scythe) could all have 6os at Ilvl=41, plus the yari and lance (with qlvls of 41 and 44) also become available to get 6os. there are also 2 exceptional spears (Bec-de-corbin and Grim Scythe) with 6os possibilities, although they have qlvls of 51 and 55 which means they would be much harder to find by A4 NM.

Do I mis-understand something? Are 6os spears and polearms rare or non-existent in NM?

 

[Jocular]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Well I suppose we could just make "Seis" polearms...

 

[jdkerr]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Well, I am not sure what I will do with Slog the Frog. Thank you for the kind post, Quickdeath. I'll think about his fate.

I did just set matters right with the Drifter Cavern issue, though.

Spoiler

I returned to Normal difficulty and performed the task according to the rules. It was very easy, as it was the first time (and as it would have been had I done it properly the first time, and as it was with my fragile sorceress with no crowd control skills at all). Since we have already established that the Drifter Cavern can be attempted more than once, that aspect is not a problem. The problem is returning to a previous difficulty. For this reason I was careful not to pick up any items, kill any monsters, buy or repair anything, or so much as talk to someone in town (who could have healed me, say). While the Ancient Kaa challenge would have been simply impossible had I read the rules more carefully and followed them, the Drifter Cavern would have been a walk in the park, and I feel confident that, at least in my own mind, that issue has seen reparation (and remember, I am already disqualified, so it does not matter). Heck, I'd do it a dozen more times... naked.

Well, Krupa has apparently found the biggest problem so far with the rules: the Decease DeSeis rules require that your A2 Merc wield a weapon socketed with 6 runes spelling out DeSeis - but Krupa points out that Polearms and Spears with 6 sockets are not available in A4 NM.

Any suggestions, anyone? I need to research this, but I realize I need to fix this quickly.

I assumed that you had two options: either you cube-socket six sockets into a spear/polearm by the time you leave NM difficulty or you are forced to spend your Larzuk quest to make one (which would be a high price to pay for the labor!).

The real problem, in my mind, is that this makes single-pass play likely impossible. It is probably reasonable to demand at least 4 sockets, so for single-pass players you may have to make the rule something like, "burn your runes socketing, but if you cannot find/make a 6os weapon by that point you are permitted to spell "Seis" in a 4os weapon." After all, this makes the actual labor harder, not easier (though probably not significantly so).

 

[Quickdeath]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

I edited my message above, which trapped the above two posts in a time-warp.

I need the help of someone who is familiar with this issue to confirm whether or not 6oS polearms and spears are both possible and realistically obtainable as drops from monsters or objects by the time you get to the end of A4 NM.

If it is confirmed that only 4oS Merc weapons are reasonably obtainable, I think we might need to go with spelling "Seis" rather than "Deseis" in the merc weapon. But, let's wait until we hear from an authoritative person.

 

[jdkerr]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Looking back over the thread, I have yet another question about the rules.

To be clear: Six challenges have restrictions on TP-ing away:
Kill Duriel Until you have killed him

Kill Ancient Kaa (after you have cleared out the other monsters, and put on nonmetallic clothes and decide you are ready to kill Kaa)

Hell Ancients (after you have summoned the Ancients)

A Caress for Andariel (You may not TP away on Catacombs 4 -but may return to Catacombs 3 to TP)

Deathtrap in Drifter Cavern (You may not TP away in Drifter Cavern until you have activated the chest)

Hell Cows You must survive for 30 seconds and circumnavigate the map before you are allowed to TP away

You later ruled that it was perfectly fine to S&E out of the Drifter Cavern and try again, so that obviously does not count as part of the TP restriction.

So this is the way I understand it: when in the Drifter Cavern or facing the Ancient Kaa, if I decide that I can't make it (say, I am stuck like Krupa was, or am unable to dent Kaa's health bar, like Slog), it is perfectly fine for me to S&E and try again. If I TP to town first, though, then S&E and try again, I am disqualified. That was Slog the Frog's error. Is that correct?

 

[Eureka]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Well I`ve been lurking around for a while, but I realy like the concept of this tourney and wanted to give it a try. I will go in with a barbarian. I wanted to go with berserk and some crowd control but haven`t decided on the entire build. I think the lack of life/mana leech with berserk will give me some problems with some of the challenges so I have to think about an alternative skill for those challenges.

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein        No   5/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12 
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    27 Kurast Docks       No   2/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         25 Kurast Docks       No   2/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  27 Dry Hills          No   3/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       20 Lut Gholein        No   1/12
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    18 Lut Gholein        no   1/12
Jason Maher      Jason           Necromancer  17 Outer Cloister     Yes  1/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        17 Outer Cloister     No   1/12
Ojimijam         Evelyn          Assassin     13 Black Marsh        No   1/12
Eureka           Workaholic      Barbarian    4  Cold Plains        No   1/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            ThisIsMalaga    Paladin      64   Plains of Despair     6/12
Nightfish        Hammertime      Paladin      60   NM Durance II         7/12
jdkerr           BrusselSprouts  Sorceress    51   NM Durance II         5/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
GoldenredDragon  Vein            Paladin      28 City of the Damned No   2/12
Jason Maher      Jacinta         Amazon       30 Kurast Docks       No   3/12
Thaurus          TrevorTheTimid  Druid        22 Stony Tomb         No   1/12[/FONT]

 

[Jason Maher]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Items that can have 6 sockets maximum can reach that maximum at ilvl 41+. However, items dropped by monsters in Normal are capped at 3 sockets maximum, regardless of whether they could theoretically receive more for their ilvl. Similarly, items dropped by monsters in Nightmare are capped at 4 sockets maximum. The only way to get a 6os polearm/spear in normal or nightmare is to use the cube recipe or Larzuk. If you plan on using normal Larzuk, you'll probably have to run Baal. I think only Baal and Lister and mob drop items at ilvl 41+ in normal.

 

[Quickdeath]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Items that can have 6 sockets maximum can reach that maximum at ilvl 41+. However, items dropped by monsters in Normal are capped at 3 sockets maximum, regardless of whether they could theoretically receive more for their ilvl. [HIGHLIGHT]Similarly, items dropped by monsters in Nightmare are capped at 4 sockets maximum.[/HIGHLIGHT] The only way to get a 6os polearm/spear in normal or nightmare is to use the cube recipe or Larzuk. If you plan on using normal Larzuk, you'll probably have to run Baal. I think only Baal and Lister and mob drop items at ilvl 41+ in normal.

Thank you Jason. The sentence that I've highlighted is what I did not understand. :hang:

[HIGHLIGHT]The Decease DeSeis Labor is hereby changed:When you confront and kill Lord DeSeis in NM, the A2 Merc weapon must be a 4os weapon with SEIS spelled in it with runes. [/HIGHLIGHT]

Sorry for the confusion. Again, thanks to Krupa, Jason and others for your help with this.

 

[JimmyOfJudecca]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

The definitions of "non-metallic" weapons that I have used in the rules are not arbitary, they correspond to those that are in the items table in the code. Iron Golems cannot be made out of non-metallic weapons, and weapons racks rarely drop non-metallic weapons -so base weapons are all designated as either metallic or non-metallic in the tables. In these tables, the club and spiked club are designated as non-metallic, but the Maces and Hammers are designated as metallic. Hammers are Maul, Great Maul and the War Hammer, Maces are Mace and Flail -those are all metallic.

It actually turns out that, in theory anyway, I screwed myself in the Ancient Kaa challenge by picking a Javazon. I had it in my mind that an Amazon can use a bow against Kaa, so Kaa would be no major problem - but, d'oh, then I picked a Javazon. None of my Javazon's skills will help with a wooden weapon -except for the 2-3 skill points in CS and Penetrate. So, I will need to rely on whatever damage I can find, craft, imbue or socket into a bow, xbow or club -or hope I find a ribcracker, lol.

Thanks for the clarification! I presumed my inquiry was a false hope, but I was unaware of the non-metallic properties in the code. Very interesting :scratchchin:

 

[JimmyOfJudecca]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

I should read more carefully. The rules say very clearly that "Jump" is not allowed in the Drifter Cavern. By this I assume Quickdeath means "Leap." It would be a simple matter for me to reroll my map and do the challenge properly, but the rules also state very clearly that I cannot return to Normal difficulty. It appears that regardless of how Quickdeath rules on the Ancient Kaa challenge, I am out of the tournament -- and by reason of my own negligence reviewing the rules.

After getting so far with an unlikely build and putting so much energy into his progress, I am not sure I have the heart to enter again. Good luck to all the participants.

For what it's worth, I hope you continue participating in the tournament JD. Your experiences and insight have been invaluable up to this point, and your recaps are enjoyable to read.

 

[JimmyOfJudecca]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Glad those clarifications have been made, I was quite worried on how to find a 6os polearm by A4 NM... lo and behold, it's nigh impossible without serious dedication or ridiculous luck. Not that 4 os will make the Labor easier though...

Since the last update, Heracles has progressed to the River of Flame. A3 didn't pose much threat, the first few areas on /p7, the next few on /p5, the rest on /p3 except for Durance lvl 3 (/p1). More importantly, more yellows/greens/golds are starting to drop now that Heracles has ~200 MF, along with an extra 70 on the merc. On a side note, decided to switch to a BA merc to ensure hitting things worked... kind of sad when something as big as a maul can't hit the broad side of anything. All in all, nothing too great dropped, it's only A3 Norm, but Heracles will definitely stash the items in case they become useful later (especially looking forward; glad that a Civerb's Icon showed up in case %Damage to Mana isn't found early enough).

Gained a few levels, and was able to get Berserk for Mephy, which is great since leech doesn't work on him anyways :smug:.

Izzy was a softy, especially when most enemies are going down with one smash from the rare maul Mephy dropped.

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein        No   5/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12 
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    30 River of Flame     No   2/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         25 Kurast Docks       No   2/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  27 Dry Hills          No   3/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       20 Lut Gholein        No   1/12
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    18 Lut Gholein        no   1/12
Jason Maher      Jason           Necromancer  17 Outer Cloister     Yes  1/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        17 Outer Cloister     No   1/12
Ojimijam         Evelyn          Assassin     13 Black Marsh        No   1/12
Eureka           Workaholic      Barbarian    4  Cold Plains        No   1/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            ThisIsMalaga    Paladin      64   Plains of Despair     6/12
Nightfish        Hammertime      Paladin      60   NM Durance II         7/12
jdkerr           BrusselSprouts  Sorceress    51   NM Durance II         5/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
GoldenredDragon  Vein            Paladin      28 City of the Damned No   2/12
Jason Maher      Jacinta         Amazon       30 Kurast Docks       No   3/12
Thaurus          TrevorTheTimid  Druid        22 Stony Tomb         No   1/12[/FONT]

Well I`ve been lurking around for a while, but I realy like the concept of this tourney and wanted to give it a try. I will go in with a barbarian. I wanted to go with berserk and some crowd control but haven`t decided on the entire build. I think the lack of life/mana leech with berserk will give me some problems with some of the challenges so I have to think about an alternative skill for those challenges.

Welcome Eureka! I like seeing a fellow Berserker on the adventure :alright: Good call on the backup skill. I'm still debating whether I want to rely on pots or a backup (so far concentrate is proving useful) for regen.

 

[JimmyOfJudecca]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

I'm going to be taking a hiatus from d2 for about a week...so I'll probably be in last place soon! Oh boy!

Looking forward to your return. I gotta admit, I was and am still impressed that you're going single-pass! And, the mortality rate of heroes gives a bleak outlook for anyone and everyone, so even if you slip in to last place, it may not be for very long

 

[JimmyOfJudecca]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Yes, the rules are clear, you may not use Leap or teleport in the Drifter Canyon, but you may use Leap or teleport on the Glacial Trail. [And, yes, there was a reason that I designed it that way.]

Got it, and thanks again QD for the clarification. From other accounts, this doesn't sound like a problem anyways.

 

[Kestegs]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Progress time!

AworkingStiff has conquered another labor

Act 3 was really simple, bone spear owned all it came across, everything was done at p8 except Mephy at p3, nothing really too scary to report.

Act 4 was pretty simple as well, I started it at level 30, and after I disposed of a p8 Izual (much more tedious than the tower) I had all of my 1 point wonders enlisted, including all summoning skills (yes, I will be using revives and fire golem(don't hate!))

Diablo was one of my most worrying challenges, so I made sure to be well prepared. I ran chaos seals until I was 36, in the hope that it would bring up my pathetic chance to hit. I then shopped for a combat shrine and actually had two on my final map. By WP and by circle!

I put two flawless diamonds in my necro head and changed out my ring and some charms to max out my top 3 resists, and dropped about 20 super/juve pots on the ground and dropped the p setting to 1. Went back to the WP to grab that shrine and it was go time! I didn't pull the mercs weapon, as I never expected him to survive, and he lived (or didn't) up to that expectation quickly. I had remapped BS,decrep, and CG to F1,F2,F3 just to make things easier to keep track of, as after his life was down those would be my spammers.

I opted for a wirt's leg with TAL ETH TAL to help me hit.

Battle went pretty well, getting his life down to a sliver was the harder part almost, since my good shield was on the switch with wirts leg. Probably took about 2 minuets to do him in, and about 5-6 hits. I would only move in if I had got a CG and decrep on him with a full BS active, which is actually pretty hard to accomplish while you are dodging his attacks!

Here is the battle:
1
2 <------My Favorite
3
4
Victory!
LOL

Next stop is the drifter cavern, might be tough, but terror should be a win!

Question:
You said we can't return to a previous difficulty after we complete it. I assume that we can still run baal if we want as long as we haven't entered NM yet?

EDIT: I just realized that my combat shrine expired before I even could use it! had another one just at the top of the screen I could have used...oh well

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein        No   5/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  36 Harrogath          No   3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12 
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    30 River of Flame     No   2/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         25 Kurast Docks       No   2/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       20 Lut Gholein        No   1/12
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    18 Lut Gholein        no   1/12
Jason Maher      Jason           Necromancer  17 Outer Cloister     Yes  1/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        17 Outer Cloister     No   1/12
Ojimijam         Evelyn          Assassin     13 Black Marsh        No   1/12
Eureka           Workaholic      Barbarian    4  Cold Plains        No   1/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            ThisIsMalaga    Paladin      64   Plains of Despair     6/12
Nightfish        Hammertime      Paladin      60   NM Durance II         7/12
jdkerr           BrusselSprouts  Sorceress    51   NM Durance II         5/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
GoldenredDragon  Vein            Paladin      28 City of the Damned No   2/12
Jason Maher      Jacinta         Amazon       30 Kurast Docks       No   3/12
Thaurus          TrevorTheTimid  Druid        22 Stony Tomb         No   1/12[/FONT]

EDIT2: Fixed table since Jimmy ninja'ed it on me!

And just FYI: IF you hit the "+" sign next to the quote button on all of the people you want to quote and then push quote it will put them all separate so you don't have to post 3 times in a row.

 

[JimmyOfJudecca]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Progress time!
FYI: IF you hit the "+" sign next to the quote button on all of the people you want to quote and then push quote it will put them all separate so you don't have to post 3 times in a row.

Aha! That's how you do that. I have been wondering and was unable to find the specifics on it. Thank you for this, it will be invaluable. And sorry for the posts en masse... :doh:

And, well done on the Wirt's Revenge Labor, I can see why that second pic is your favorite. Impressive preparation for the task! Best of luck in Harrogath, and I look forward to joining you there soon :thumbup:

 

[Sint Nikolaas]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

I finally got D2 to work again and immediately made some progress. I finished Act 1 without too much trouble although Andariel put up a surprisingly tough fight. I had to use rejuvies to keep me alive. Other then that I've been cruising through Act 2 using the 3 Tal bow I stripped of the rogue and watching everything get 1-shotted on /p1. Now I'm going to grab some levels before engaging Duriel... I haven't worked the courage up to do it yet

Here's the proof of the first Overpower the Towers Labor. It took some time to find a tower... I ran to the Vipertemple but there wasn't one there, doh, so I had to comb out the Lost City to find one. After getting to one it went down pretty quick to the poison dmg.

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein        No   5/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  36 Harrogath          No   3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12 
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    30 River of Flame     No   2/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         25 Kurast Docks       No   2/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        22 Canyon of the Magi No   2/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       20 Lut Gholein        No   1/12
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    18 Lut Gholein        no   1/12
Jason Maher      Jason           Necromancer  17 Outer Cloister     Yes  1/12
Ojimijam         Evelyn          Assassin     13 Black Marsh        No   1/12
Eureka           Workaholic      Barbarian    4  Cold Plains        No   1/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            ThisIsMalaga    Paladin      64   Plains of Despair     6/12
Nightfish        Hammertime      Paladin      60   NM Durance II         7/12
jdkerr           BrusselSprouts  Sorceress    51   NM Durance II         5/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
GoldenredDragon  Vein            Paladin      28 City of the Damned No   2/12
Jason Maher      Jacinta         Amazon       30 Kurast Docks       No   3/12
Thaurus          TrevorTheTimid  Druid        22 Stony Tomb         No   1/12[/FONT]

 

[Jocular]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Looking forward to your return. I gotta admit, I was and am still impressed that you're going single-pass! And, the mortality rate of heroes gives a bleak outlook for anyone and everyone, so even if you slip in to last place, it may not be for very long

Thanks

Yeah, I've never tried single pass before, nor HC either, and both are very humbling. The whole money issue for gambling is getting a bit tight, and I still haven't been able to find a good war scythe! I'm just hoping I find a good great axe or war scythe from Big D. If I don't...I don't want to think about that lol.

If I die on Big D (or in the near future SOMETIME, It's bound to happen), I'm definitely going to do the tourny again, but with SO much more experience on what to do for single pass HC. I didn't start picking up every drop of gold until around the middle of act 3. :hang:

But other than that it's been surprisingly fine. I really need to get a good weapon from Diablo though, spending money on gambling for act 5 just seems terrible. Considering I've already gone through a good 150k on it already with no results...

Plus, the reason for my leaving d2 for a week is pretty embarrassing. I'm grounded off it for the reason of not getting up early enough in the morning for school For god sakes, I'm a senior in high school, and the semester ends in less than a month. But whatever. For the sake of this tourny I'm going to "sacrifice" and wake up early enough for school. And my school starts at 7:25 in the morning, which means I have to wake up at at least 6:20 so I can have time to shower/eat/drive. Bleh.

 

[LordMay]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

The first half of Act 2 is going as well as I could have hoped for Stone the iron barbarian. I've taken full advantage of gambling and snagged myself:

Steel Maul of the Leech
Two-Hand Damage: 30 to 43
Durability: 60 of 60
Required Strength: 69
Required Level: 6
Mace Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 23
Fingerprint: 0xa17fbf0f
+57 to Attack Rating
5% Life stolen per hit
150% Damage to Undead

and for Azreal the prayer merc (after a single reroll):

Pike of the Leech
'Ith'
Two-Hand Damage: 14 to 72
Durability: 18 of 25
Required Dexterity: 45
Required Strength: 60
Required Level: 15
Spear Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0x344688b0
+9 to Maximum Damage
5% Life stolen per hit
Socketed (2: 1 used)

We hit slow but we hit hard. I forgot how much fun untwinked play can be, Items that you would normally look over just might make you do a dance in celebration. I jumped out of my chair when I gambled this circlet on the first try:

Mechanic's Circlet of Luck
Defense: 20
Durability: 35 of 35
Required Level: 19
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0xf2e1383d
45% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Socketed (1: 1 used)

With the Topaz I got from Andy I've got a great source of MF considering I'm only level 22. Add onto that an +80AR/3%LL rare ring and Hsarus's boots and I'm doing great.





[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein        No   5/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  36 Harrogath          No   3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12 
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    30 River of Flame     No   2/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         25 Kurast Docks       No   2/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        22 Canyon of the Magi No   2/12
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    22 Far Oasis          no   1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       20 Lut Gholein        No   1/12
Jason Maher      Jason           Necromancer  17 Outer Cloister     Yes  1/12
Ojimijam         Evelyn          Assassin     13 Black Marsh        No   1/12
Eureka           Workaholic      Barbarian    4  Cold Plains        No   1/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            ThisIsMalaga    Paladin      64   Plains of Despair     6/12
Nightfish        Hammertime      Paladin      60   NM Durance II         7/12
jdkerr           BrusselSprouts  Sorceress    51   NM Durance II         5/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12[/FONT]

[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]

[FONT=Courier New]
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
GoldenredDragon  Vein            Paladin      28 City of the Damned No   2/12
Jason Maher      Jacinta         Amazon       30 Kurast Docks       No   3/12
Thaurus          TrevorTheTimid  Druid        22 Stony Tomb         No   1/12[/FONT]

 

[JimmyOfJudecca]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Thanks

Yeah, I've never tried single pass before, nor HC either, and both are very humbling. The whole money issue for gambling is getting a bit tight, and I still haven't been able to find a good war scythe! I'm just hoping I find a good great axe or war scythe from Big D. If I don't...I don't want to think about that lol.

If I die on Big D (or in the near future SOMETIME, It's bound to happen), I'm definitely going to do the tourny again, but with SO much more experience on what to do for single pass HC. I didn't start picking up every drop of gold until around the middle of act 3. :hang:

But other than that it's been surprisingly fine. I really need to get a good weapon from Diablo though, spending money on gambling for act 5 just seems terrible. Considering I've already gone through a good 150k on it already with no results...

I came back to D2 a few months ago after years of hiatus, and these two guides were invaluable. Not sure if you've reviewed them before, but HC and single-pass would be much more difficult without the insight. Props to Thyiad for pointing me to these.:thumbup:

EDIT: And huge props to HC Gunther and Jiasonz for these incredible guides!

EDIT2: Almost forgot my own suggestion. Try making a Strength RW. LL and CB

 

[Jocular]

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Well, I already get more than enough LL from feral rage(~52%) so I'm good there. Plus I found a crushflange so I'm good on CB.

Thanks for the guides, I've already checked out one, but the other one is VERY useful. I'm quite noobish on knowing what to do for single player MF, so I really need help lol.