Re-entering Sixstringer's Sword of Destiny.
Character: Navatara
Build: Holy Shock Paladin
Level: 1
Zone: Rogue Encampment
I'm going to take a slightly different approach this time, and risk running on higher player settings to see if I can get some drops. Going to Diablo with 0 lightning resists and not even having a full set of gear on worked out poorly. I'm also going to be more liberal about using resist element auras instead of +elemental damage auras (while I'm short on gear, at least).
Once I get to the midgame and can start crafting items, things should pick up. I just have to get there.
Take 2, go!
Character: Navatara
Build: Holy Shock Paladin
Level: 1
Zone: Rogue Encampment
I'm going to take a slightly different approach this time, and risk running on higher player settings to see if I can get some drops. Going to Diablo with 0 lightning resists and not even having a full set of gear on worked out poorly. I'm also going to be more liberal about using resist element auras instead of +elemental damage auras (while I'm short on gear, at least).
Once I get to the midgame and can start crafting items, things should pick up. I just have to get there.
Take 2, go!
Act 1
Act 1 went pretty fast. I did it all on p8, up until Andariel who I did on p7. The higher player setting hasn't bit me with a bad sword of destiny (yet....), but does seem to have helped a bit in finding rares. It's certainly helped find gems to socket swords with. I'm swimming in them.
Early on I didn't find much great stuff. I got my two handed sword equipped at lv 7 again. I found a few rares, but again mostly non-sword weapons I couldn't use. I got a amp damage trident that I'll stick on my merc in Act two, and two rare armors with some resists. I stuck on on my rogue, but didn't use the other since it had no defense... I think my normal ring mail is still better.
I did Andariel at Lv 19. She dropped a good long bow that would have been nice to have before her, but is sort of a waste now (assuming I get an aura merc). She also dropped a bad hard leather rare armor that basically just lowers magic damage by one and self repairs. She dropped a rare falchion I can't use.
Fortunately, she also dropped a rare ring that I can use. It's not fantastic, and I'll miss the 1 mana per kill I had on my first charachter's ring, but this one gives me 9% poison resist, reduces damage by 1, and gives me some strength that will help getting the next tier of sword and heavy armor on a level or two earlier.
She also dropped a rare light belt. Loosing a third row of potions is annoying, but I think it's probably worth picking up for 17% fhr and 10% cold resist. It has 3 mana and 3 life too.
Act 2
I'm wondering what merc I want. I suppose I'll inevitably end up with a NM holy freeze or (maybe) might merc. But I'm not sure until then. I don't really benefit enough from defiance in normal with no shield and bad armor. My merc probably doesn't need defiance to tank stuff, and it doesn't save him from really hard stuff like Duriel... I think I'll try the combat one with prayer, and see if that can offset the rampant poison damage in act two on my merc and I.
The other option would have been sticking with my rogue, but I think having someone help tank is too much of a benefit.
... I ran with the combat merc. He was ok, I guess. Act two was uneventful. I did it all on p7 until Duriel, who I did on p3 because I had no luck finding /any/ gear throughout the act. I shopped some new white stuff from the vendors, and got a tripple socketed claymore that I put some gems into. But otherwise drops were a bust (other than a few resist charms I'm glad to have).
Even Duriel's drops were a bust. I got a bunch of rare weapons that weren't swords. At least one was an enhanced damage polearm I can use to upgrade my merc.
On to Act 3!
Act 3
Act three was nicer to me with drops. I played the whole thing on p8, except for mephisto who I did on p7 at level 30. Mephisto took awhile to knock out, and took an inventory full of healing potions, but I didn't have to TP at least. I got a rare chainmail, amulet, and full helm while running the Act. When I killed mephisto, I got a rare giant sword to top it off. I won't list all the mods, but they leaned heavy cold resist. I'm still strugling a bit with lightning resists, and fire is another very weak spot. I had a close call on the way to mephisto infact, from a big pack of ghoul lords. I'll have to sorts my resists out before diablo so I don't deeds again.
None of the items were "great", but they were all good improvements over whites (or, in the case of the amulet, an empty slot).
Besides those items, I got the usual bunch of rare and set items I can't equip. Isenhart's Case dropped again, and the Hsaru Shoes did. I wish i could equip those badly - 20% move speed and 25% fire resist would be great. Sigh.
The amulet has 17% MF on it, which slightly concerns me. I think I'll risk keeping it on though, because it also has a nice chunk of +hp that I badly need, along with +2 minimum damage, which is nice.
Only other upgrade (very vaguely) was getting my merc an ethereal poleaxe instead of his previous one.
On to Act 4!
I'll probably slow down a bit here, though. As much as I like to pretend I'm done with school, I do still have two finals that aren't going to get studied for on their own.
Act 1 went pretty fast. I did it all on p8, up until Andariel who I did on p7. The higher player setting hasn't bit me with a bad sword of destiny (yet....), but does seem to have helped a bit in finding rares. It's certainly helped find gems to socket swords with. I'm swimming in them.
Early on I didn't find much great stuff. I got my two handed sword equipped at lv 7 again. I found a few rares, but again mostly non-sword weapons I couldn't use. I got a amp damage trident that I'll stick on my merc in Act two, and two rare armors with some resists. I stuck on on my rogue, but didn't use the other since it had no defense... I think my normal ring mail is still better.
I did Andariel at Lv 19. She dropped a good long bow that would have been nice to have before her, but is sort of a waste now (assuming I get an aura merc). She also dropped a bad hard leather rare armor that basically just lowers magic damage by one and self repairs. She dropped a rare falchion I can't use.
Fortunately, she also dropped a rare ring that I can use. It's not fantastic, and I'll miss the 1 mana per kill I had on my first charachter's ring, but this one gives me 9% poison resist, reduces damage by 1, and gives me some strength that will help getting the next tier of sword and heavy armor on a level or two earlier.
She also dropped a rare light belt. Loosing a third row of potions is annoying, but I think it's probably worth picking up for 17% fhr and 10% cold resist. It has 3 mana and 3 life too.
Act 2
I'm wondering what merc I want. I suppose I'll inevitably end up with a NM holy freeze or (maybe) might merc. But I'm not sure until then. I don't really benefit enough from defiance in normal with no shield and bad armor. My merc probably doesn't need defiance to tank stuff, and it doesn't save him from really hard stuff like Duriel... I think I'll try the combat one with prayer, and see if that can offset the rampant poison damage in act two on my merc and I.
The other option would have been sticking with my rogue, but I think having someone help tank is too much of a benefit.
... I ran with the combat merc. He was ok, I guess. Act two was uneventful. I did it all on p7 until Duriel, who I did on p3 because I had no luck finding /any/ gear throughout the act. I shopped some new white stuff from the vendors, and got a tripple socketed claymore that I put some gems into. But otherwise drops were a bust (other than a few resist charms I'm glad to have).
Even Duriel's drops were a bust. I got a bunch of rare weapons that weren't swords. At least one was an enhanced damage polearm I can use to upgrade my merc.
On to Act 3!
Act 3
Act three was nicer to me with drops. I played the whole thing on p8, except for mephisto who I did on p7 at level 30. Mephisto took awhile to knock out, and took an inventory full of healing potions, but I didn't have to TP at least. I got a rare chainmail, amulet, and full helm while running the Act. When I killed mephisto, I got a rare giant sword to top it off. I won't list all the mods, but they leaned heavy cold resist. I'm still strugling a bit with lightning resists, and fire is another very weak spot. I had a close call on the way to mephisto infact, from a big pack of ghoul lords. I'll have to sorts my resists out before diablo so I don't deeds again.
None of the items were "great", but they were all good improvements over whites (or, in the case of the amulet, an empty slot).
Besides those items, I got the usual bunch of rare and set items I can't equip. Isenhart's Case dropped again, and the Hsaru Shoes did. I wish i could equip those badly - 20% move speed and 25% fire resist would be great. Sigh.
The amulet has 17% MF on it, which slightly concerns me. I think I'll risk keeping it on though, because it also has a nice chunk of +hp that I badly need, along with +2 minimum damage, which is nice.
Only other upgrade (very vaguely) was getting my merc an ethereal poleaxe instead of his previous one.
On to Act 4!
I'll probably slow down a bit here, though. As much as I like to pretend I'm done with school, I do still have two finals that aren't going to get studied for on their own.
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