The Certain Death Tournament.

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Well, glad I was able to stir some things up with my comments.

About Act I and II posing very little danger: so far 5 characters have died in Acts I and II while 13 have gotten through those Acts safely. So, that's something like 25-30% mortality rate in Acts 1 and 2. Basically, having no points in vitality changes my feeling of comfort (yes I'm not one of those players who hangs back and lets the merc kill everyone.) I mean, I felt safe in Blood Moors but even in areas off of Cold Plains - such as when facing Blood Raven or Cold Crow - I found I was quite cautious. And Pitspawn Fouldog? Andariel? Duriel? Yikes!

The table posted by Ohomemgrande was very interesting - I didn't realize that /p8 was such a small advantage in leveling in the early stages as compared to /p5. Of course, one extra level or so does help a little bit with chance to hit and to be hit - but its not a big deal. So, I need to rethink that. Thanks for posting that Ohomemgrande!

And Wakiki - glad to hear you have fond memories of the Enchantress tournament. I think I died early in that one!
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

I am having more fun with this character than most tourney characters I play. Wind druids may be a good fit for my playstyle -- or perhaps the fact that I always wanted to make one and never got around to it is a factor.

I am headed into Travincal at the moment. After I defeat the Council (if I am still alive...), I will begin to phase out some of my MF gear for survival gear. I will post a real update once Meph dies or I die -- whichever comes first.
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Inevitability continues to deny her namesake. She has destroyed Baal. He witnessed her teleport right up to him. Within seconds, he was no more. He managed to spurn her even in death though, as he only dropped 1 unique, the large axe, whatever it is. What a jerk.

Inevitability - 206 life - Act 1 NIGHTMARE
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

CandleInTheWind has defeated Andariel and made it to Lut Gholein. She anticipated that her Plague and Poison javelins would be of little use against Andy so she dropped to /p5 befroe entering the 4th catacombs level. In the outer chamber she found the Infernial Cranium cap with its +10 to All Resistances and 20% Damage Goes to Mana!! She slipped into the cap, cleared the outer chamber, gulped some antidote potions and started jabbing away once she got to the blue bare-bosomed boss. But even our heroine became weak at the proximity of those big blue nipples. Quickly she suffered one NDE and two teleports to town to recover and revive her fragile rogue merc. But finally Andariel went down - dropping 6 crappy rares, including two ethereal rares and two class-specific rares for other classes!

The taverns of Lut Gholein were a welcome sight, for, like all of us, she is but a CandleInThe Wind and the winds of evil blow strong.

[HIGHLIGHT] Quickdeath, CandleInTheWind, Poison/LF Javason, Lvl 20, Lut Gholein [/HIGHLIGHT]
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Trap sins are not my cup of tea, reentering with KingLeoric the bonemancer. I've always wanted to try one :)

KingLeoric, Level 1, Rogue Encampment
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Lifeless the wind druid has defeated Mephisto.

Gameplay is uneventful so far. No NDEs, no challenges, no clever ways to solve challenges. I almost had to use a potion on my merc when fighting Mephisto. I met my first physical immune (who died to hurricane + merc).

Every gear slot had been devoted to MF and every charm slot devoted to GF up through the Council. After the Council, I made some adjustments. I made myself a lovely little bit of armor ("Stealth") that made a huge difference in my play, ditched my MF circlet for a FCR rate one, and equipped a fun little unique ring that I had found earlier. Unfortunately, the combination sent my fire resist over 50%, so I had to swap out my MF boots for some FHR/FRW ones instead.

Code: 
Stealth
Superior Breast Plate
'TalEth'
Defense: 75
Durability: 57 of 57
Required Strength: 30
Required Level: 17
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 21
Fingerprint: 0x6f62b9c9
+6 to Dexterity
+15 to Maximum Stamina
+10% Enhanced Defense
[B]Regenerate Mana 15%[/B]
Magic Damage Reduced by 3
Poison Resist +30%
Increase Maximum Durability 14%
[B]25% Faster Run/Walk
25% Faster Hit Recovery
25% Faster Cast Rate[/B]
Socketed (2: 2 used)

Rainbow Circlet of the Magus
Defense: 22
Durability: 35 of 35
Required Level: 21
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0xa12425d3
All Resistances +11
[B]20% Faster Cast Rate[/B]

Manald Heal
Ring
Required Level: 15
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 23
Fingerprint: 0x3d804bf6
[B]+20 to Life
Regenerate Mana 20%[/B]
4% Mana stolen per hit
Replenish Life +8

Bone Track
Boots
Defense: 4
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 16
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0xf44919b9
+14% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +28%
[B]20% Faster Run/Walk
10% Faster Hit Recovery[/B]

Magic Find: 63% ( sad, but I'd rather be poor and alive )
Gold Find: 172% ( mostly from charms )

Life: 245 (with Oak Sage)
Resists: 46/15/39/41
Cyclone Armor: absorbs 418 points of elemental damage
Chance to block: 56%

Tornado damage: 193 - 223
Hurricane damage: 40 - 81

Merc: Act 2 (prayer), 1-120 lightning damage, knockback

[highlight]Lifeless, Wind Druid, lvl 32, Normal Pandemonium Fortress Waypoint[/highlight]
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Question:

What merc should I use?

-- I need a damage source other than physical and cold, for PI/CI monsters (Act1? Act2/5 with items?).
-- I probably need a tank (Act2? Act5?)
-- I would prefer not to use an Act2 merc, since that is what I always do.

I like the idea of an Act5 merc. Would that be a good choice? Would he be effective as a tank? Could I load him up with fire or lightning damage?
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Hey all!

Glad to say i am safely in Iran. I am currently staying over at my uncles place in Tehran before we head off to the camp on Monday. So far its been good, been almost 7 years now since i was back in Iran and all i can say is.....i haven't missed the driving here. Good god its crazy!

Anyway during my flight (which wasn't the greatest of flights), i had a lot of time to ponder over this tournament (why not? i was bored :smug:). I mentioned in an earlier post that i will re-enter with a Barb, however after much thought and consideration i have decided to temporarily hold off that idea for now. I need more confidence before i will tackle this tournament with a melee based build :nod:.

So with that being said allow me to introduce to you all, Drake the pyromaniac Druid!
Drake has had a crazed obsession with fire ever since he was a child and it grew into his adolescence. Playing with fire and harnessing its power is Drake's facination and desire.....he likes watching things burn :evil:!

More to come later as i progress with Drake.

[highlight]Drake the Fire Druid, Level 1, Normal Rogue Camp [/highlight]

PS. Wakiki just remove Bahram from the table as he was never created. Add Drake though :)!


jdkerr said:
Question:

What merc should I use?

-- I need a damage source other than physical and cold, for PI/CI monsters (Act1? Act2/5 with items?).
-- I probably need a tank (Act2? Act5?)
-- I would prefer not to use an Act2 merc, since that is what I always do.

I like the idea of an Act5 merc. Would that be a good choice? Would he be effective as a tank? Could I load him up with fire or lightning damage?
Click to expand...

Take a look at some of the windy guides that are in the stickies. There you should find some discussion about which merc is best for a windy. From my own personal experience i used a Holy Freeze merc with good results. Having monsters constantly slowed allowed for easier castings and aiming of Tornado's, which increased efficient for not only killing but also the mana bulb. However given the circumstance and rules of the tourney (Begins with 3 tourney), i wasn't allowed to place points into Hurricane. So that could have been why i decided to choose a Holy Freeze merc.

Act 5 mercs can be a great choice if you can give him a nice big sword to swing around. They are agressive little buggers that can deal some serious damage. The right weapon could work perfectly vs PI/CI's. If you manage to accumulate the runes for a Cresent Moon, then you will be laughing!



 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Well I don’t mind saying that I’m more than a little stunned and disappointed. After experiencing exactly zero near deaths anywhere in NM Act 3 Ulquiorra-san was deeded by NM Mephisto in bizarre fashion.

Ulquiorra had cleared out Bremm and his group and then the group of ghouls that’s usually close to Bremm. He then went to the chamber on the left hand side of the map where Maffer Dragonhand can be found and killed him . . . and then Mephisto dropped a Blizzard on Ulquiorra’s head from the other side of a wall and instantly killed Ulquiorra . . .

Ulquiorra was dead a split second before Mephisto was even visible and certainly had no idea that the boss was on the move (as Ulquiorra had never ventured closer to where Mephisto spawns than where he was standing when he died) . . . it was as though Dragonhand had called Mephisto for an air strike and the boss delivered and then appeared to inspect the carnage . . . bizarre . . .

Ulquiorra’s resists were 50/50/49/49 and his life was full at max hit points (about 400 even) . . . I don’t know what level Blizzard NM Mephisto casts but it really packed a punch . . . Ulquiorra was dead instantly leaving me wondering what had happened for a split second before I read the death text and Mephisto appeared . . . what a way to go . . . you almost never see him use Blizzard and I have absolutely no idea what triggered him come charging into that side chamber . . .

At least the Deeds screenshot was flashy . . .

[highlight]Ulquiorra-san, Bone Necro, NM Durance Level 3, Level 64, RIP[/highlight]

. . . strangest deeds in three years of playing hardcore . . .
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Wow, a bizarre death indeed!

Mephisto can be a sneaky bugger sometimes. I lost a Mojomancer in Hell difficulty against him. It was a weird character I had going there. The gameplay consisted of lots of Dim Vision, the necro tanking for his rogue merc with the help of a strong Bone Armor, constant Decrepifing against the monsters he tanked, and hitting them with The General´s unique Flail that has 50% slowing, plus he sported cold damage from a couple of sources. In short, monsters he was tanking barely moved.

Anyway, I knew that as soon as I would have Mephisto slowed and Decrepified, he would be ours. But that wasn´t to be. When I had run about half the distance to Mephisto, he fried me with Lightning. Two castings in super quick succession. My lightning resist wasn´t that bad, ~45%, but my nearly 800 life got wiped out in half a second.
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

I just gambled these:

Raven Clutches
Heavy Gloves
Defense: 5
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 24
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 28
Fingerprint: 0x9f1b4132
[highlight]Fire Resist +22%
Lightning Resist +29%
Poison Resist +23%[/highlight]
6% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Half Freeze Duration
Level 1 Poison Dagger (22/22 Charges)

I am not one for ranking items well, but triple resists seems pretty nice to me. :)

(I can't use them yet, unsurprisingly, but they will come in handy later in the game when the gap between base resists (negative) and the 50% cap is larger.)
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Hardluck there with deeds Hanshotfirst. :(


I've a sneaking suspicion that the bonewall that has been cast there triggers off monster AI from much greater distances than say bone prison does much in the same way that the confuse aura seems to do.


Best of luck with the next attempt!
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

@Thomh: I lol'd at the bear worshipers and the +life amulet. :)

@Tarantella: Aw man, that's so unlucky. Those can be blocked right? Just a bad roll. :( Whether you rejoin or not, thanks for playing.

You seem to be tied with scrcrw in both level and location. Can you guys tell me how much experience your characters had? The information should still be in Atma, if you haven't deleted them.

@scrcrw: 900 damage at level 19?!? HUH?!?! How much time does it take to deal that much? Sheesh! Also, have you saved Kaiko? (see above)

@Ohomemgrande: What an interesting experiment. It seems like /p5 might be the smart way to go in NM.

@Bluechip: 206 life in Nightmare, nice. :) Good progress so far, bub. EDIT: I need to know what level you are though.

@Hanshotfirst: WHAT?! I....umm....I didn't even know he had that skill. That...wow. I was speechless when I opened up that picture. Did they add that in to prevent people from doing the moat trick or something? Whatever the case, I'm really sorry for your death man. My first guess was the same as Tarantella's: the Bone skills must have messed with his A.I. somehow. I have to say though, if nothing else, at least you had a really unique death. That's the best way to go, I say!

@jdkerr: Those are some pretty awesome gloves, especially because the two important resists are represented. I'd definitely wear those in NM.

Galningen: Welcome to the tournament, bub! Bonemancer's seem to be an oddly popular build in this tournament. They aren't even a normal build. I like it!

@everyone else: This post is getting really long, so I'd just like to say that I love the consistent progress people are making. Now it's time to update the table. I'll going to update myself later on tonight.

New page; here's the table:

Code: 
Forum Name     Character       Class            Location               Level
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
scrcrw         Kaiko           Blade Fury Asn   (N)Throne of Destruction 72 RIP
Tarantella     Amarantine      Skirmisher       (N)Throne of Destruction 72 RIP
HanShotFirst   Ulquiorra-san   Bone Necro       (N)Mephisto              64 RIP
Drystan        Argoel          Sorceress        (N)Rogue Encampment      46
Bluechip       Inevitability   Sorceress        (N)Rogue Encampment      ?
Thomh          Uzumati         Fire Claws Bear  Harrogath                34
ancalagon      Shatterproof    Strafer          Harrogath                33
nermind        EatMyBones      Bonemancer       Chaos Sanctuary          34 RIP
EmperorMoo     FineFingers     Strafezon        Chaos Sanctuary          31 RIP
jdkerr         Lifeless        Wind Druid       Pandemonium Fortress     32
wakiki         BathtubPancake  Charge/H.Freeze  Lower Kurast             30
cenyth         Teff            ES Sorceress     Lower Kurast             30
soulmanz       SwayBabySway    Passivezon       Kurast Docks             27
Brutass        Tane            Summ/Fire Druid  Kurast Docks             24
Mournblade     Mouse           Golemancer       Arcane Sanctuary         24
PepitoSari     Kratos          Barbarian        Fangskin                 25 RIP
Morathi        Sibella         Cold Sorc        Maggot Lair              24 RIP
JayeM          Glasscannon     Assassin         Maggot Lair              20 RIP
JayeM          Glassjaw        Barbarian        Far Oasis                22
QuickDeath     CandleintheWind Javazon          Lut Gholein              20
pepitosari     SassyAssasin    Assassin         Lut Gholein              20
scrcrw         Jenna           Poison Java      Lut Gholein              19
sirpoopsalot   QuestionMarks   ES/GS Sorc       Barracks                 18 RIP
Bluechip       Sickness        Poison Javazon   Barracks                 15 RIP
kavarin        Roadkill        Fire/Wolf        Outer Cloister           17
holiecows      HolieTraps      Assassin         Dark Wood                15
XxUberStarxX   Inevitable      Chargadin        Stony Field              12
NagisaFurukawa Rin             Strafer          Stony Field              12
Shaandore      Fastpoison      Psn/Feral Rage   Stony Field              12
Ohomemgrande   GeneralJoe      Summon-necro     Cold Plains              12
Galningen      Blade           Bf/Light Traps   Cold Plains              6
EmperorMoo     BraveSirRobin   Mojomancer       Cold Plains              6
Kefka          Fergie          Trappa           Rogue Encampment         1
maareek        DeathtoCurtains Berserker        Rogue Encampment         1
Myth           RAWR            Throwbarb        Rogue Encampment         1
Machete        Benny           Bow Barb         Rogue Encampment         1
Morathi        Drake           Fire Druid       Rogue Encampment         1
Galningen      KingLeoric      Bonemancer       Rogue Encampment         1
 
Last edited:
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Sorry about the new deaths at the top of the leaderboard. :(. Who will be the first to Hell, I wonder...

Rin made it to the desert today. Two ranged attackers wielding bows with chipped gems made for very slow progress in the later stages of Act 1. The good news was that most things don't move nearly as fast as they need to in order to keep up with Rin and her rogue, although an Extra Fast pack in the Catacombs was an unpleasant surprise, albeit not all that troubling. No difficult fights to speak of. Slow Missiles all but disabled ranged packs, while melee packs could simply be outrun. Andariel fell equally smoothly, as she did nothing but chase Rin around in circles, occasionally shooting poison (and missing), while the rogue chased her, shooting arrows (and hitting, !) every so often. Painfully slow, but still quite amusing.

You can expect my updates to stay like this, by the way. I'll just apologize now for that. :p.

[highlight]Rin, FA/Strafer, Lut Gholein, Level 18[/highlight]
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Well, I was planing on killing Meph today but I'm feeling rather tired so I'll just do it tomorrow.

I'm sitting at the Travincal WP with two NDE's under my belt. The first was thanks to a "stairtrap" of three plain beetles in one of the Reliquaries. I decided to Zeal one just for the Hell of it, and my life (obviously) dropped to 10% as I used fat purples and reds. What's funny is, I knew that zealing would be incredibly dangerous, did it anyway, had my fingers ready on the potions, and I was totally calm throughout the whole ordeal. Somehow, I have accepted the fact that I am going to die, and that's been somewhat liberating. I keep doing things just to test the limits of my character and improve my reaction time, and if I deeds, then it's not a big deal for me. I faced a fire enchanted pack of beetles and let my merc handle those though. I'm not that gutsy. :D

The second NDE came when I got zapped by a Multishot Heirophant. Those are pretty cool enemies to get the mod multishot...it just makes their spells insanely powerful. The "single" (single casting) zap took off ~80% of my health.

The most satisfying aspect of playing a Chargadin is killing enemies that run away. Those Zealots did that occasionally, and I just said "Where you think you're goin'?" and flattened them within an instant. Very, very badass.

I also had some lurvly gambles:

Grim Harness
Plated Belt
Defense: 14
Durability: 24 of 24
Required Level: 15
Required Strength: 60
Fingerprint: 0x4c64d790
Item Level: 34
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
+25 to Life
+3 to Mana
24% Enhanced Defense
Poison Resist +11%
68% Extra Gold from Monsters
24% Faster Hit Recovery

Garnet Boots of Luck
Boots
Defense: 3
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 19
Fingerprint: 0x7fc0a5c8
Item Level: 27
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Properties:
Fire Resist +21%
32% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

I think I'll stop gambling boots and just wait until Anya to improve them again, and focus on my gloves (which are plain 25% fortunes). I just love that belt: 5 away from the max life allowed on rares, and the hit recovery. The Gold find also pushes me to 145 gold find, and just in time for the council, too. :)

[highlight]BathtubPancake, level 32 Holy Freeze Chargadin, at the Travincal[/highlight]
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

@jdkerr - Nice to see someone else using Stealth armour! It really is a brilliant beginning caster armour available as early as A1 Normal!
Great pair of gloves you have there too!

@HanShotFirst *Meph's Blizzard*
Sorry to hear about the deeds! Meph's Blizzard has taken a character of mine as well, and it is one of the most damaging spells IMO.
Luckily, he only casts it when you aren't in his line-of-sight. He'll cast it if you're hiding behind a wall, or run behind a pillar, but never when he can hit with a different elemental (Cold Orb/Lightning.) I think there is a point while in his line of sight, if you're too far away, he can also cast it, but not sure on this.
It is possible that the Bone wall awakened his AI, and cast Blizzard since you were out of his sight line, but not sure on that one.

His attack does have a range though. He killed a HF Rushee hiding in a similar position, but he won't cast it all the way across the map.

Again, sorry to hear, and bad luck on that one. :(
 
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

wakiki said:
@Tarantella: Aw man, that's so unlucky. Those can be blocked right? Just a bad roll. :( Whether you rejoin or not, thanks for playing.

You seem to be tied with scrcrw in both level and location. Can you guys tell me how much experience your characters had? The information should still be in Atma, if you haven't deleted them.
Click to expand...

Thanks Wakiki. I'm keen to have another go with all that I've learnt with Amarantine having usually played bnet (in 1 player games) for the past 7 years. I didn't use any mods first pass but comparing the screeny(on page 20) shows my experience bar and places me currently in 2nd. :alright:



 
Last edited:
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Well, GlassJaw made it further than his sister, but he bought it in the 3rd false tomb he entered, at the hand (or tongue) of an unraveller called Star Tongue. The unravellers were taking an amazing % of his life globe with each black magic shot and Star Tongue was multiple shot... Until the false tombs, he was having an easy time, even the Summoner was no problem. Back to the drawing board--I guess I'll call in GJ's brother to avenge him, a necromancer named GlassEye (so called because he lost an eye during an alchemical experiment). His glass eye has a mirrored surface which makes him look rather freaky. Not sure what skill route he'll take, but he's going to use summons instead of a minion.

[highlight]Jayem, GlassJaw, Barbarian, Canyon of the Magi, 25 RIP
GlassEye, Necromancer, Burial Grounds, 7[/highlight]
 
Last edited:
Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

This may be my last update for some time, as I'm going on a small holiday.

Argoel found a nice looking Red Sword (Hellplague I think [+2 fire skills]) which she was tempted to keep purely for the appearance, but came across a Thul, and created a White-Cheese Spirit Sword. It rolled 28% FCR.

Nightmare
Act 1 and 2 have gone by without incident, or much trouble, so I cannot actually report on too much. I did run into a potentially deadly MSLE Mummy, but his bolts went in the wrong direction, and was taken out with Firewall.

Also, an interesting note about Frozen Orb. When shooting at Lightning Sentries, it usually only had one ring of shards that shot out in the circle, at the extent of Forbs range. But if shot directly on the Sentry, it appeared to release two circles of shards.
I am certain that this only occured on shots that exploded inside something.

Anyway, as said, A1 and A2 went by fairly easily. I improved my MF amulet with this for a gamble:

Ghoul Collar
Amulet
Required Level: 33
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 52
Fingerprint: 0x4308c54f
+8 to Dexterity
Fire Resist +38%
Lightning Resist +33%
33% Extra Gold from Monsters
+2 to Fire Skills (Sorceress Only)
8% Chance to cast Level 5 Chain Lightning on attack

Current stats:
~275 life
134 Free stat points
Almost 3000 damage Firewall, and ~200 Frozen Orb with level 14 Cold Mastery IIRC.

[highlight]Drystan, Argoel, Sorceress, (N) Kurast Docks, 58[/highlight]
 
Log in to Reply / Create Site Account
Remove Ads - Go PurePremium

Latest posts

Back
Top