The 12 Labors Tournament

Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Time for another update.
Kaa is down. Duriel is down. Kaa went down a lot easier then expected. The biggest worry was that I had to forgo all my metalic items (sword/shield/gloves) and couldn't find good replacements. Here's the main idiocy: I ditched a fleshrender for a culwen's earlier this week because they both had +1 and culwen's had 20FHR. Yeah.. I could've used the fleshrender against Kaa, but not the Culwen's. Oh well.. I actually just used the Horadric staff for the minor bonusses, but I might aswell gone empty handed.
As you can see, all I had to do was find a sweet spot between the lightning bolts while Kaa finished off my minions & merc and then stood around trying to res skeletons and such. My Hurricane just killed him without me having to blast a bunch of Tornadoes in there.
Same thing happened with Duriel, all I had to do was to get in there, Hurricane and Tornado him down while drinking blues and giving a few reds to my merc. Pretty easy fight. Now I can blast through act 3 and maybe start running Meph a few times.. I know a windy isn't exactly build for it but we'll see...

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      84 Lut Gholein H      Yes  9/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  76 Black Marsh H      No   7/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      71 Cold Plains H      No   7/12
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    74 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        61 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         68 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       51 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Magara defeated Kaa and then Duriel and now is in A3 NM.

Adjusting her equipment wasn't bad at all- much of it was already non-metallic. So far, the limitations have hit non-sorcs much harder than sorcs.

I decided that the merc should also go metal-less for the battle and actually he survived fine and maybe even caused some damage (weaponless but enchanted.)

Her non-metallic gear set was: rare circlet, rare orb, Whitsun's round shield, leather Stealth armor, Bloodfist heavy gloves, crafted caster sharksin belt, and rare boots, Leaf staff on switch.

The merc had Wormskull, and then a plain ethereal demonhide armor (just for the occasion) and was "empty-handed." Firewall+orb was very effective and the actual Kaa battle didn't take too long, but it took a while to get through the tomb to Kaa with some congestion en route.

There was only one fire tower (Valley of Snakes, none in the Lost City) so I did that twice for that part of the Persistence labor.

I haven't decided on a lightning skill yet- the Ancients of course loom large, eventually. Orb and Firewall are "stand at a distance and damage" skills, so perhaps Lightning is the best choice there. I also want to do some Lower Resist experiments with another character to get a sense of what I'll be facing there.

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      84 Lut Gholein H      Yes  9/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  76 Black Marsh H      No   7/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      71 Cold Plains H      No   7/12
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    74 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        61 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         69 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       51 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Here is some info on the ancients:

Talic: 110 Fire resist, 50 all other

Madawc: Fire/poison 50, cold 70, light 100

Korlic: Fire 70, Cold 150, light/poison 50

I'm no expert on immunities, but here is my take. If any of them become enchanted to an element they are not already immune to, they will become unbreakable to a second element with LR, as it adds 75% resist.

Also if any of them get spectral hit or magic resistant(both at 40% resist to all 3) they will become cold, fire, light immune ( in that order), except for talic.

So It's pretty obvious that they have a good chance of being dual immune. The only immunity you will be able to break is madawc's , and only if he does not get any additional lightning resists, although a LR wand would still help to lower a non-immune one, especially for fire/light spells



aworkingstiff hasn't seen daylight in a while, I have too many projects going on atm, but I'll get back to him soon.
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Thanks for the info. I'd looked up the base resists but not how the bonuses increase the resistances. I think the Lower Resist will be useful for the non-immunes as I foresee there being a great deal of urgency to killing at least one, hopefully 2, off pretty quickly. For the non-LI ones, Static will be helpful, of course.

My plan is to again be massively overlevelled and hope that helps as well but no matter what, there will be a serious moment of truth once she touches the altar!
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

wow some high level chars u got there in early/mid NM!! nice progress everyone :)

been pretty busy with finishing and conducting a presentation. now i have some more time for the important things...pushing danny further

update:
the harem and palace cellars were filled with lots and lots of mobs. while all the bosses were killed, i grew tired of killing every single of those minions, that kept running away most of the time. there were some rather bad ones, but nothing horribly threatening.
danny also had his last encounter with fire eye, but no decent farewell presents were exchanged
the sanctuary turned out to be a lot more annoying than a challenge. lots of those ghost things, that kept sucking away all the mana. the summoner was killed and the remaining two paths were cleared (luckily - found an atma´s scarab on the last one, the new PI/MI-solution)
next on the agenda were the tombs. i think this is the biggest by-choice-area in the game. with two really big tombs (the real one and the one kaa is in) and 5 little ones. in one of the little ones there was this mean scarab. i don´t know why, but dannys life kept dropping fast, not matter which resistance aura danny had on. he was probably too fast to be stunned and it was the physical attack...he had no conviction aura active iirc, it was fanaticism or something like that...his minions were dim vision parked somewhere and he, with two trips to town, finally overcome.
danny was actually hoping to find more towers in one of the tombs, to destroy at least as many ones in hell as in nm, but that wasn´t happening...
all in all the tombs were quite troublesome. sarcophagi (they only spit out undead if the merc or the char are close to them - quite handy to know) that couldn´t be destroyed, ghosts, that sucked away all the mana, heavy hitting scarabs and 3 groups of champion reviving things (those are the worst when combined with a sarcophagus) and finally ancient kaa. but the reward was totally worth it - missing one shael and one flawless diamond to upgrade it
Goldskin
Full Plate Mail
Defense: 359
Durability: 70 of 70
Required Level: 28
Required Strength: 80
Fingerprint: 0xadd0779
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+122% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +35
Attacker Takes Damage of 10
100% Extra Gold from Monsters
+2 to Light Radius
in the meantime a blood belt was crafted, which had replaced my caster one with 55 life and 8 str. the only useful mod on the new belt was the open wounds. nothing else on it really, but the mod became essential at some point with the heavy life regeneration
last but not least the real tomb was conquered and duriel killed.
i opened all 6 super chests with over 200 mf and not a single rare/unique/set item popped out

i paused the game in act 3 with some stuff on the ground i wanted to keep. but after getting home from work (and being tipsy) i restarted the laptop. so that stuff is gone...oh well

so with the charms out of the equation for lister, the balde of ali baba was socket with a 15 ias jool and hopefully a shael or second one will be to spare till that labor arrives. armor and shield give currently 72+86 = 158 mf. combined with boots and gloves i have currently 190 mf and a 30 mf nagel in stash. so i guess it can be done...
[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      86 Kurast Docks H     Yes  9/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  76 Black Marsh H      No   7/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      71 Cold Plains H      No   7/12
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    74 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        61 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         69 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       51 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Tragedy has struck Heracles!

Due to cockiness, beer, snax and comfort, Heracles has seen deeds. After reaching level 75 and deciding to finish ofF the last of the WPs and Quests, Heracles was geared up for Hell and had reached the last level of Nihalathak's Temple in NM. Upon descending, Heracles was met by some of the pea-shooting Flayers, which doesn't seem like much of a problem (especially on /p1); however, while eating snacks and drinking a beer, his BO must have worn off just before reaching the bottom step, and about 2 seconds and 4 pea hits later (not enough time for a one-handed potion chug), Heracles let out his final cry.

RIP Heracles, let it be a lesson to never get too comfortable.

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      86 Kurast Docks H     Yes  9/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  76 Black Marsh H      No   7/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      71 Cold Plains H      No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        61 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         69 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       51 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    75   Harrogath NM          7/12
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12

Still going back and forth whether I will re-enter. On a semi-unrelated note, finally got RWM working on my comp, which I had been holding off on while Heracles progressed. My MF-Sorc-to-be is thoroughly enjoying her first Spirit RW on the merc.

Best of luck to all! And QD, it was a pleasure participating in this clever tourney. Looking forward to another in the near future.

P.S. Why do I feel like a piece of me died with Heracles? Does anyone else have this problem?
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Sorry to hear of the loss of Heracles, ouch!

Megara had no problems in A3 or A4, with some LK and Council runs to improve charms mostly. Then lots of NM meph runs but little improvement to show for it. She has accumulated a decent pile of gold and may gamble to improve gear and try some more crafting.

For the DeSeis task, the only 4-socket polearm that had dropped was a pike, but that worked out fine. Clearing the CS wasn't bad, a few merc deaths (mostly from lowly Amp in crowds, not IM!) from not having as much leech as before. And facing DeSeis went well with getting him first Static'd and then knocked down a bit more for enchanted Ilzan to finish him off. Diablo dropped a Kelpie Snare, non-eth, but still very nice at this point! That could be helpful against the Ancients, when the time comes...

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      86 Kurast Docks H     Yes  9/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  76 Black Marsh H      No   7/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      71 Cold Plains H      No   7/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         70 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        61 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       51 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    75   Harrogath NM          7/12
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12

Code: 
Gemmed Pike 
Pike 
Two Hand Damage: 23 - 72 
Durability: 21 of 25 
Required Level: 29 
Required Strength: 60 
Required Dexterity: 45 
Fingerprint: 0x62733c2b 
Item Level: 41 
Version: Expansion 1.10+ 
+20% Increased Attack Speed 
+9 to Minimum Damage 
+9 to Maximum Damage 
-25% Target Defense 4 Sockets (4 used) 
Socketed: Shael Rune 
Socketed: Eth Rune 
Socketed: Ith Rune 
Socketed: Sol Rune
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Well, folks, I have good news and bad news.

Asparagus the Medic Paladin made it to Act2 Hell, defeating Andariel in the proper manner (that is, slapping her in the face with an ungloved, empty hand before fleeing up the stairs, visiting town, and returning in full force). The maggot lair was also defeated rather handily. Progress moved slowly throughout Acts 1&2, but steadily.

I was having a lot of fun playing this character. The moron has always been for me precisely that. In most situations, he is little more than an Insight-wielding nuisance. This character has helped me discover that playing "merc assist" can be quite entertaining, and a slow-paced, underpowered character can be enjoyable.

I had hoped to be the first player to complete the tournament (although Krupa's cheesadin was likely to beat me, especially given his build, and the same is true of Kesteg's necro), achieving my first guardian in a difficult tournament with an unlikely character, but alas, it was not to be. In two days, I leave for a summer job out of town that will leave me little or no time to play D2. I hope that this tournament is still going in the fall, and I plan to pick up my character and try to complete the tournament then, but for now I must take an extended leave of absence.

Good luck to all! May none of you have as many deeds on the table as I do. :girly:

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      86 Kurast Docks H     Yes  9/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      74 Valley of Snakes H No   8/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  76 Black Marsh H      No   7/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         70 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        61 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       51 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    75   Harrogath NM          7/12
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

@Jimmy: tough break, I am always very careful not to eat/drink when the game is up and playing HC. And in Nihl's Temple too? That place can turn on you in a heartbeat even in NM.

Nice progress, jdkerr that is a good bad news to have, at least he is not dead :)


Quickdeath said:
6. It is assumed that V1.13 will be used by all players. The use of the RWM is NOT allowed.
Click to expand...

Ummm...Insight?


 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

When I said that on my characters mercenaries have always been morons wielding "Insight" (I should have added Reaper's, as well), I did not intend "have always" to be taken in a way restricted only to this tournament. (Of course, it was a bit hyperbolic anyways...)
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Ok, good! I thought you may have meant that, and re-reading your post I see exactly what you meant now. Sorry about that :)
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

R.I.P. Heracles. Sorry for your loss Jimmy!

And have a good summer, jdkerr! I read your post 3 times trying to understand how Asparagus made DEEDS before I realzied he was still alive. Anyways, when you return the tournament is likely to be going if D3 hasn't come out - and at the rate I'm going I'll still be in NM by then!
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

A very scary tale unfolded this morning...

I have done a few more countess runs in the last few days, with no good results, I was getting bored so I decided to head on out. Went through the rest of the act on /p3 without any real indecent. I ran catacombs 2 a few times since I was close to hitting 79, after that I was ready to go!

Go time! As you can see I removed glove, weapon, and merc weapon too of course. I loaded up my inventory with extra resist charms, life charm, and AR charms. My CtH on a lightning spitter was 14%, and it was only 5% before I put the charms on! Level 2 was very simple, as I knew it would be with a short map, I think I only saw maybe 2-3 monsters total.

Went down to level 3 I thought Hmmmm...left, no right, no left, no right...OK, finally decided on left...whew I'm sooo glad I chose left...level 4 was there after only about 30 seconds into the challenge!

Now I wasn't really worried about level 2-3, but I was REALLY hoping for a kind amount of monster groups in level 4...what do you think I got??? I had bought a teleport staff long ago, and had used it in the tower twice per game to save time, so I was prepared to jump the wall and head in! I didn't have much time to mess around in the first room either, because there were zombie boss packs in that room! Here goes, I jump the wall and prison the fallen pack that is always in the fire over there. Start moving on the lower side of the boxes, all of a sudden there are literally 10-15 spitters rushing towards me! Crap! I throw up some prisons and beat a hasty retreat back to the corner! And yea, every single boss is cursed. And from what I can tell, a curse will proc if it hits a bone prison, either that or one had a holy aura, because I literally could not shake that curse!

I now see poison clouds starting to fly out from the top corner, that is good I think. The spitters and fallen were mostly on the left of the boxes, so I attempt to let andy come through on the right, while I keep everyone else imprisoned. It looked like this might actually work out, but I ended up getting in this situation.

I decided I had to get out of there, so I took a few tele's and safely made it up to the throne area, I was able to keep it pretty under control, but eventually the spitters got free before andy did, she really seems to like to attack those prisons! Even when she looked like she was clear she would not come get me!

No more screenies from here on out, the madness that followed was beyond pushing any keys that I did not have to push! I decided to get as many spitters up into the top section as I could, after doing that, I quikly ported back down top the first room (with the 2 zombie bosses) I quickly moved over to the unexplored middle room, amazingly enough it was empty except for the standard fallen packs, whew! I then took a port up to the left section of andy's room, found another zombie pack up there, but zombies aren't so bad because they are slow. I managed to control most of the monsters and Andy was making a V-line for me! WooHoo this is what I've been working for! Of course I didn't get my CG up, as I was too busy getting ready to smack her, but I did have full bone armor up (640 damage) but I am still cursed of course. She comes into range and I start going to town as we exchange blows. I swung once..miss, she swung, hit, and I brushed it off. Life didn't even move...So I'm happily going in for swing number two...Thud, I heard the sweet sound of delicious Andy slappage! WooHoo! I did it! I did it! I'm so excited I'm not really thinking straight anymore. Well apparently she didn't really think that being slapped was as funny as I did, here comes hit number 2! And it was a doosey! I didn't see the number for sure, but I'm pretty sure I only had double digits left! Ahhhh! I pop a purple, BAM hit #3, pop another purple, I now am realizing I need to cast bone armor, so I get that up and spam off a CG while we exchange a 3rd hit V. purple potion. The CG keeps her busy just long enough for me to get my boney rear out of there and over to the next room, a few more ports over to the stairs and I am home free!

I look in my belt and realize I only have 1 purple left! what an idiot I am for only bringing 4 purples! I didn't even use a single other potion! The whole cata level 4 took about 10-15 minuets I think! It was one of the most nerve racking and adrenaline filled times I have had playing D2! Truly an Epic battle, I wish I could have got it on video, as it was such a crazy event. I remember feeling completely hopeless at several points, I still can't hardly believe that I made it out of there alive!

I did go back and finish her off, I am still not sure on the boss packs in the throne room, but there was at least a zombie and 2 spitters. I'm glad that this is behind me and I can move on, This was always my most feared challenge, and now I know why!


[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      86 Kurast Docks H     Yes  9/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      74 Valley of Snakes H No   8/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  79 Black Marsh H      No   8/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         70 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        61 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       51 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    75   Harrogath NM          7/12
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

kestegs said:
A very scary tale unfolded this morning...

The whole cata level 4 took about 10-15 minuets I think! It was one of the most nerve racking and adrenaline filled times I have had playing D2!
Click to expand...

Yikes. You had a Necro PLUS you had a teleport staff ...and you still had such a close call? :scared: Of course, a large herd of spitters is close to worst case for that labor.

Did you use any curses? Would DV or Terror have helped? - or Attract or Confuse to maybe divert the herd? Did you have a Clay Golem going? All I see in your account and the screenies are Bone Walls and teleport.

Glad you survived it! :thumbup:



 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

I am pretty bad at using curses, sadly. This is probably why I don't play a lot of necros. Actually, I only have points in amp, weaken, terror, and decrep. The only one of those I ever use is decrep, and that is a rare occasion. The CG pretty much just gets one shotted by anything, and I just couldn't keep up with keeping him alive. I really should have remapped my hotkeys for this challenge, so they were all closer together, that is something I did on the last stealth challenge. Attract and confuse would have probably been a good benefit, but I really was able to keep the other monsters at bay with the walls, it was just the fact that I had to be cursed the whole time that made this so hard. I wish I could have gotten some more screenshots off towards the end, I actually thought I had, but it was all a mad button mashing fury at that point!
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

I am exhausted after completing the Kill Ancient Kaa Labor.

Going into the Lost Tombs, my Javazon had reached a clvl56 and found a Rockstopper Sallet Helm! Hoo-hah, what a great find!

But my LF/CS/PJ Amazon faced the following grim realities:
- the Lost Tombs are full of Mummies, Greater Mummies, and Skeletons which are resistant to lightning and poison. Not the best vacation spot for a Javazon
- oh, and lightning bugs -or spitters- infest every Tomb.
- my javazon has no mana leech, so it pumps blue potions and returns to town often.
- The Zon's javelin has no Replenishes Quantity mod, and I need to return to town to repair it at 4000 to 5000 gold per pop. Which means I need to pick up gold, and sell items in town
- my HF Merc dies fast and frequently when mobbed, requiring an expensive revive and more selling of items
- my stash was full of non-metallic armor, awaiting the confrontation with Ancient Kaa, leaving little room for storing any runes or flawless gems I might find
- and I had to search the lost tombs for Ancient Kaa on /p8

I would eventually find Kaa in the 6th Tomb I searched. I would typically open a door, step into the room to attract attention, and then run back and let my Merc and Valk plug the doorway. I'd toss a Poison Javelin,and then start throwing LF Javs, then I'd switch to a spear and walk up to the door and kill the survivors with CS. Entering the room, I'd then seek out the Greater Mummies and kill them one by one.

However, four Greater Mummies in a room with a Mummy Sarcophagus was a desperate situation - the Greater Mummies could revive as fast as I could kill. And my Merc would sometimes go down immediately. And my javazon could not kill the Sarcophaghi - Lightning and Poison damage just does not affect it -I need the physical damage of my Merc to destroy a sarcophahus. So, I needed to constantly retreat to town to revive my Merc, and then struggled to get him to attack the Sarcophagus as all Hell was breaking out around us.

Eventually, I adopted the strategy of leading as many Skellies and mummies out of every room and far from the Greater Mummies before killing them. Which led to my my most desperate moment:

In the sixth tomb, I opened a room and saw four Mummies, including a Boss and a Sarcophagus and dozens of Skellies and spitters. I backed away but the skellies and spitters were extra fast and chased me aggressively. I accidently backed into a room I had not cleared yet. Seeing my mistake, I quickly exited that room and ran into a third room -which I also had not cleared! I rapidly retreated from that 3rd room -and found I was at the nexus of three rooms that were each belching out skellies, mummies and spitters, with about eleven Great Mummies reviving everything they could see and two Sarcophagi pumping out more mummies. (All on /p8, of course.) Holy Diablo, Batman! I recast Valk, pumped a mana potion and began firing my lvl 14 LF -I continuously pumped mana potions until my 60 Javelins were gone. I returned to town, revived the moron, and repaired my javelins and returned to battle. The battle raged , and I returned to town another seven times before I had the three rooms cleared out. The outer hallway was literally carpeted with bones and corpses. I was exhausted -I'd been clearing tombs for several hours straight before this apocalypse.

And finally, Ancient Kaa the Soulless. He was in a terminus room with six other Greater Mummies and dozens and dozens of skellies -but thankfully, no sarcophagi. I dutifully led all the skellies away from the room and butchered them where they could not be revived. This took maybe twenty minutes. Then I entered the room and systematically killed the other six Greater Mummies. I TP'ed to town and donned my non-metallic gear -my Weapon was a 4xRal Composite Bow. I returned and my Merc, Valk and Javazon whittled away at Kaa until he was gone. Five and 1/2 hours to search for Kaa and kill him!

I dropped to /p3, went into the 7th tomb and found Duriel, transformed him into blue goo and then took a slow boat to the Kurast Docks. I have never been so relieved to be facing the endlessly annoying Flayer Jungle. I think I will buy a dog, name it Kaa, and kick it every night.


[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      86 Kurast Docks H     Yes  9/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      74 Valley of Snakes H No   8/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  79 Black Marsh H      No   8/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         70 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        61 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       59 Kurast DocksNM     No   6/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    75   Harrogath NM          7/12
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

I suppose I should put "Dumber" in the list. He is a necro majoring in walking bones. He may go for a bone spear later, but for now it is a Clay Golem and five skeletons. He had no trouble with the Den of Evil Labor. That was a nice friendly starter. The next one for him is Duriel (destroying one fire tower is hardly worth mentioning). Duriel is going to be a challenge indeed. I cannot imagine getting those skeletons strong enough by then to last very long and Dumber will probably live up to his name as he tries to slap Duriel to death with his wand. The Golem will be of some help, but keeping him around is going to cost Mana. Oh well, I named him "Dumber" because that is the way I felt for signing up for this quest.

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      86 Kurast Docks H     Yes  9/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      74 Valley of Snakes H No   8/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  79 Black Marsh H      No   8/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         70 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        61 Kurast Docks NM    No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       59 Kurast DocksNM     No   6/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
Wolron           Dumber          Necromancer  20 Lut Gholein        Yes  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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    75   Harrogath NM          7/12
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Finally made some progress again.. making myself up for de Seis quest (or better yet.. NM Diablo). Act 3 was blasted/run through with nothing real to report. I had enough trouble taking down NM Meph that I decided he isn't worth running. The winddruid is safe enough and kills monsters pretty quick, but not on the high life targets.. I need some CB on the merc for that...

[highlight]Hardcore[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      86 Kurast Docks H     Yes  9/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      74 Valley of Snakes H No   8/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  79 Black Marsh H      No   8/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         70 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        67 River of Flame NM  No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       59 Kurast DocksNM     No   6/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
Wolron           Dumber          Necromancer  20 Lut Gholein        Yes  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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    75   Harrogath NM          7/12
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12
 
Re: The 12 Labors Tournament

Dumber is a necromancer at level 28. He is majoring in summoning. Here are his skills.

Amplify Damage - 1 + 1 on his necro head
Skeleton Mastery - 13 + 2 on his necro head
Raise Skeleton - 8 + 1 on his necro head
Golem Mastery - 3 +1 on his wand
Clay Golem - 3
Summon Resist - 1
Raise Skeleton Mage - 2 on his wand
All Summon Skills - 1 on his wand

This allows him to use a reasonably strong Clay Golem, 3 skeleton mages and 5 skeletons. He casts amplify damage to help his crew destroy the enemy hordes.

Knowing that he was going after Duriel with this crew, I also equipped the off-hand to get ready for when the summoned skeletons were all dead and gone. The wand and necro head combined had 3 bone spear, 2 golem mastery and 1 bone wall. The thought was that, left on his own, Dumber could whittle away at Duriel with bone spear and still recast the golem with reasonable golem mastery.

So, I was all prepared with a belt/backpack/Cube full of full rejuvs. I had charms that would give dumber extra stamina (fully expecting to be run ragged by the worm once the skeletons were gone).

So, what happened??? Well, it took about 30 seconds to kill Duriel on P8. No skeletons lost (not even the mages) and no golem recast required. Oh, and yes the merc survived too, but I did give him two full rejuvs as Duriel seemed to be concentrating on him and his Razertine.

At this point, I do not know whether to be happy or dissappointed. I really expected this battle to be a challenge. I guess I will be happy. That is much more fun.


The next challenge is to kill Diablo with Wirt's Leg. My Wirt's Leg has one socket, so I assume it will be OK to fill it with some perfect jewel or some rune to make it a bit more lethal. But, I wonder what I should do if these boss skeletons get to Diablo before I can smack him with the Leg. My guess is that Diablo will do a bit better than Duriel. He will probably make this concern null and void and I will be smacking away at Diablo for longer than I wish. Does anyone have any input on what I should do if Diablo dies by some other means before I get him with the Leg??????

Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl Current Location  SP? Labors
=============================================================================
Krupa            DannyCrane      Paladin      86 Kurast Docks H     Yes  9/12
jdkerrr          Asparagus       Paladin      74 Valley of Snakes H No   8/12
Kestegs          AWorkingStiff   Necromancer  79 Black Marsh H      No   8/12
purplelocust     Megara          Sorc         70 Harrogath NM       No   7/12
Sint             WorkedUp        Druid        67 River of Flame NM  No   6/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie2         Amazon       59 Kurast DocksNM     No   6/12
jdkerrr          SlogTheFrog     Barbarian    43 Lut Gholein NM     No   5/12
Jocular          BornToFolk      Druid        33 River of Flame     Yes  3/12
ancalagon        JabberWalk      Amazon       30 River of Flame     No   3/12
Wolron           Dumber          Necromancer  28 Kurast Docks       Yes  3/12
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
[highlight]Fallen Heroes[/highlight]
Code: 
Forum Name       Character Name  Class      Clvl   Current Location    Labors
=============================================================================
JimmyOfJudecca   Heracles        Barbarian    75   Harrogath NM          7/12
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
LordMay          Stone           Barbarian    27   Diablo                2/12
jdkerr           MrSchizo        Druid        24   Duriel                1/12
jdkerr           Adria           Sorceress    21   Canyon of the Magi    1/12
Quickdeath       Lizzie          Amazon        1   Corpsefire            0/12
[highlight]Softcore[/highlight]
Code: 
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        48 Secret Cow Level   No   4/12
 
Log in to Reply / Create Site Account
Remove Ads - Go PurePremium

Latest posts

Back
Top