The Certain Death Tournament.

[Brutass]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Right! I'm back in. This tourney draws me back time and time again.
Ok, character number 5 shall be a Frost Maiden named........Icybiatch. She is the younger, poorer, and less experienced sister of Nastibiatch, a legendary LF zon who used to fight along side others on battlenet.

Icybiatch, Frost Maiden, Lvl 1, Rogue Encampment

 

[jiansonz]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

In normal, my opinion is that the rune is irrelevant, and only topazes matter. I would take a single flawless topaz over an Amn rune any day!

I wouldn´t. Unless a tournament has some strange item restrictions (Green with Envy is a good example) my characters almost never have enough Amn runes for all the stuff I want to use them for.

For me, the rune is relevant if it´s higher than Tal.

 

[LozHinge the Unhinged]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Good luck, Brutass!

Commiserations to all the recently Deeded folk here (I meant to say something in my last update). Good luck to each of you with your current attempts!

Edit: +1 vote for Amns and higher being useful. Totally agree - when survivability is an issue.

 

[cenyth]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Re-entering as WaBaBa, a singer barbarian.

... First time I've ever made a barbarian, hopefully he lives long. All tips welcome. =)
Decided to go hardcore instead of softcore, as it was slightly depressing to strip/delete Teff.

[highlight]Wababa, Singer barb, Cold Plains, lvl 12[/highlight]

 

[wakiki]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

I've updated the table.

jian, I always seem to be drowning in Amn runes. I haven't played as much as you so maybe my sample size is smaller and I have had weird luck. I spent my first Amn in a rather blasé fashion -- I just dropped it in a Hunter's Bow to create an 'Edge' for gambling. I had considered waiting for a better bow (after all -- 'Edge' isn't a bad runeword at all. I could certainly switch from being a Meleemancer to a Dark Ranger at any time.), but I figured I'd find plenty of Amns. Perhaps I will regret that! :\ I have a tendency to find loads of Amns, Dols, and Hels, but never Shaels. (By the way, did you like how I casually put two sentences in the middle of a sentence with those parentheses? Whoo!)

Also, welcome back, Brutass!

P.S.

Don't blaspheme. Lady Fortuna is capricious even fickle, but never hatefull. She's the most evenhanded being there is.She doesn't hate, but she doesn't love either.

Ulla, this is an awesome quote!! I love it! Applicable to more than Diablo II, too.:nod:

 

[HanShotFirst]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

(By the way, did you like how I casually put two sentences in the middle of a sentence with those parentheses? Whoo!)

Clearly a result of reading too many of my updates. :smug:

I would take a single flawless topaz over an Amn rune any day!

It’s a world gone mad . . . or at least so it seems to Mara at present. Mara has now done full clears through NM Act 1 at Players 7 and her highest rune to date is the Thul! :rant:

Past her really bad rune finding luck, Act 1 of NM treated Mara pretty well. At Players 7 everything really seemed to hurt when it hit so Mara made sure that she didn’t get hit (as much as possible). The general strategy was to drop a Lightning Sentry at the edge of the screen and wait. If the Lightning Sentry was silent she would then run to the Lightning Sentry and drop another at the edge of screen and wait. If the Lightning Sentry started shooting more traps were brought into play (fascinating stuff eh). Probably about half the stuff that was killed was killed off screen so Mara’s biggest problem was areas that did not lend themselves to off screen killing (such as the Forgotten Tower, the Barracks, the Jail, the Catacombs . . . really everything indoors but mostly indoor areas that had doors). My last character in this tournament died to a door trap so I approached every door with extreme caution. Mara would always drop two traps in front of every door before she opened it (mostly I was hoping to stun monsters that might come charging through) . . . it seemed to work pretty well . . . but then again there really wasn’t anything that dangerous in any of the indoor areas with doors.

The worst monsters in those areas (and in general) were the Tainted that were somewhat lightning resistant and packed a pretty good lightning punch themselves. The worst of the worst were lightning immune Tainted. These nasty buggers . . . and anything else LI fell to Mizan . . . but the problem was that Mizan’s weapon hadn’t been upgraded since Act 5 and wasn’t that great to start with . . . so LI’s were pretty slow going (but at least there weren’t too many of them . . . yet).

The battle against Andariel was nothing special (mostly Mara running in circles while the traps did their thing) . . . the drop was on par with the battle (though there the rare ring might get some use . . . but probably not). The most interesting set/unique find was Cleglaw’s Shield that completed the set and opened up the possibility of Mara using Blade Fury (I’ve been wanting to try a Cleglaw’s Blade Fury Assassin but I’m thinking this probably isn’t the place to do it . . . standing still in one place with very limited vita . . . yikes). Other set/unique finds included: The Chieftain, The Iron Jang Bong (what a name), Berserker’s Helm, Skull Splitter, Vidala’s Bow, Hsarus’ Boots, and Stormstrike. Mara also located a four socket long sword for a you know what (oh Amn, come out, come out, wherever you are). Mara also found a couple of nice charms, another plus five all resistance large charm (in storage), and a grand charm of sustenance (in use).

Here were Mara’s stat at the end of NM Act 1.

[highlight]Mara, Traps, NM Lut Gholein, Level 52[/highlight]

 

[crazy_bear]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Nice progress there HanShotFirst :thumbsup:

Britta has starter her Journey, and now cleared up to the Dark Wood and Tristram, reaching lvl 15 in the process.

I've decided not to go with the shadow (I may regret that for ancients eventually, but I'll be happy if I get there at all!) so with the extra pts that will be left I figured it was Ok to get BF (well, prereqs only so far)

One green so far - Hsaru's Buckler, and one Gem Shrine in the Dark Wood. Britta also got luck with a gamble on some leather gloves at the end of the session:

Raven Finger
Leather Gloves
Defense: 2
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 13
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 19
Fingerprint: 0x39fad86e
+17 to Attack Rating
Lightning Resist +27%
24% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Half Freeze Duration
12% Chance to cast Level 4 Charged Bolt when struck

Nice rolls on the MF and LitRes.

So far so good!
Britta, lvl 15 Trapsin, Act I normal

 

[Mournblade]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Last update had me at Lower Kurast. I collected the Heart and the Flail. One of the Council dropped a Ral rune. Smashed the orb and proceeded towards Mephisto.

Had an awesome find on Durance 1:
Static Circlet of the Ox
1-101 lightning damage
9 strength

This probably doubled my damage. The rest of Durance and the other Council folks, and Mephisto were uneventful. Mephisto hit me with a charged bolt or two, but nothing major. Dropped 6 rares, nothing kept. I had 154 life for that battle.

Moved on to Act 4, Izual took awhile to take down, but was never in any danger. Found the City of Damned waypoint and stopped for that session.

Came back a couple days later and cleared River. Hellforge dropped another Ral rune. Perfect amethyst and other lesser gems. Moved on to Chaos Sanctuary to find Big D. None of the seals gave me any trouble, but I wasn't really worried about them. Dim vision and a strong golem were enough safety as long as I paid attention. Found Sigon's Gage Gauntlets in the Chaos, but didn't use them. And then the floor shook....

Diablo had me really worried even though my resist were about as high as they could be. Fire and lightning were both in the high 40s. Mouse uses a bow, so no shield, no blocking. I had him down to a little under 1/2 life, kept recasting golem, casting decrepify, and plucking away with my bow He scared me a couple times by throwing me in the bone prison. Takes me 3-4 hits to break out of that, so I was proud to escape those. I started to think, ok, keep doing what you are doing, and you got this. Anyway, I was free from a prison, but moved too slowly when he cast one of his LBOD, and he got me. Seems my fears of Diablo were valid. RIP Mouse. This is the furthest I have taken an HC character. Previously, it was level 25, somewhere in Act 2, and that was an unrestricted barb, so a better showing here.

I'll be rejoining with another character, most likely a passives amazon.


[highlight] Mouse the Golemancer, Level 31, Died to Diablo, RIP [/highlight]

 

[Hp_Sauce]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

I just finished killing the Countess with Strangling Gas Potions because I was afraid to go near her, and figured I needed the practice playing safely (rather then recklessly).

There were some Cold Enchanted Tainted in the Underground passage that got my heart rate up (and AlreadyDeads life-bulb down). Luckily, liberal use of Strangling Gas Potions as they were charging towards me meant that they were softened up a bit when they arrived. Nothing really exciting yet.

My co-worker has now gone on holidays, so I expect long work days this week, and little progress.

[highlight]AlreadyDead, Trapper, Black Marsh, Level 15[/highlight]

-hps

I haven't read the whole thread (it's too long and I don't have time). But I flipped through the first 9 pages or so. I see I'm supposed to add myself to the chart when creating a new character. I'll do that next update as I really need to get to bed.

 

[UllaV]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

RIP: Mouse.

Mara also located a four socket long sword for a you know what (oh Amn, come out, come out, wherever you are).

I'm not sure if that runeword is so useful to you. Trap laying uses IAS not FCR and NM Anya will sell you +3 traps claws. If you pester her enough she'll even sell you +3 traps/+3 LS claws. Meanwhile buy +2 traps/LS claws from Drognan. And remember to get +3 SD claws on switch.

Ulla

 

[Thomh]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

I'm not sure if that runeword is so useful to you. Trap laying uses IAS not FCR and NM Anya will sell you +3 traps claws. If you pester her enough she'll even sell you +3 traps/+3 LS claws. Meanwhile buy +2 traps/LS claws from Drognan. And remember to get +3 SD claws on switch.

Ulla

It is pretty useful to him, actually. Long sword is faster than Broad swords and Crystal swords so they will get to the fastest trap laying breakpoint quite easily IIRC. The FHR should definately not be neglected in this tournament, and the +vitality and mana probably makes it better than claws for this tournament.

Awesome progress, guys. And yes, I read every single update and enjoy it a lot

Edit: Easily was not exactly true. But Long Swords have WSM of -10 while the other two have 0, so it reaches trap laying breakpoints more easily. You still need quite a bit of IAS (89) to reach the fastest trap laying speed with a Long Sword compared to the fastest claw (WSM -30) which needs 42% IAS.

 

[Morathi1]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

@Lozhinge the Unhinged. Congrats on getting your first ever Destroyer, with your.....first ever HC character :smug:. Very impressive! Not to mention with a Daggermancer :shocked:. I look forward to reading about your endeavours in NM!

@Jiansonz. Hahahaha! I had a similar experience as you, except instead of a Monster Shrine, it was Gem shrine. I found it about 2 minutes after I placed a chipped topaz in the last socket in Iago’s armor! I couldn’t help but laugh at the circumstance.

@Hans. Good luck in Act 2! Revenge Drake for me :nod:!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Iago began his journey into Act 2 with the hiring of Chalan, the Prayer merc. I really like this choice for Iago, as it gives me more confidence engaging in melee combat. Prayer, Feral Rage (level 1) and Carrion Vine work well in conjunction with one-another, keeping my life topped off on most occasions. It’s amazing how good Feral Rage is at the moment, fully charged, I leech back around 1/10th (roughly) of my life with each hit, coupled with the increase in attack speed, means an almost constantly full life bulb! Lets hope this keeps up!

Iago’s newest weapon, a “Steel” Battle Axe, which he happily assembled shortly after slaying Radament, was a great improvement to our arsenal. It brought about a nice change of pace, considering he was still swinging his “Brutal Large Axe of Readiness” that he gambled at level 15!

At this stage I decided to test my luck gambling. I wanted to give Chalan a new head piece, as he was very upset with his current one, a Superior Skull Cap! I don’t blame him. To my absolute shock surprise, I managed to score this with my very first gamble! Perfect!

The rest of the act was a breeze, thanks the new additions to our gear. Nothing could stand very long to even pose a threat for our mob. I decided to use this opportunity to get some Rabies practise in. I have never used this skill before and was pleasantly surprised to see how devastating it can be!

Duriel was an absolute joke on p/8. I can’t remember the last time she was this easy! Only 1 potion was used consumed during the whole fight, drunk by Chalan. Feral Rage allowed me to keep a constant leech on Duriel, while I occasionally gave him Rabies. Coupled with OW from “Steel”, it wasn’t long before he fell. His drop was pathetic (as usual), dropping only 2 rubbish rares and Cathan’s Mesh :yuck:.

[highlight]Iago the Fury/Rabies Druid, Level 28.2, Normal Kurast Docks, Life = 138 (297 with Oaks + Wolf Form), aided by Chalan the Prayer Merc[/highlight]

 

[Cor Blimey]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

I am considering entering with either an ES Sorc (really tough for a loooong time until +mana and telekinesis starts kicking in, I imagine, and without items like frostburns it might not be viable in hell against horrors like Souls), or a multiple aura Pally, for the ability to adapt to the situations at hand. A barbarian with BO+Shout could be good. A passive-zon could be nice (does decoy count as a 'summon' and therefore prevent a merc from being used?).

Could someone clarify a few questions please, because 50 pages of posts is tought going ?

-Are summoner necros allowed to use reclearing for bodies when fighting bosses? I imagine not, but it is worth checking. If not then I suppose it would be worth a summoner basically skipping as many areas as possible in Act1 of each difficulty (or some flayer areas) to leave some fuel for the higher acts.

-With the base resists thing, is that just from gear, or do skill-based resists count? I.e. the conviction, lr, fire and frost auras, the barb's natural resists, and fade.

-is there a limit on damage reduction? (both % and absolute)

 

[Cor Blimey]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

It is pretty useful to him, actually. Long sword is faster than Broad swords and Crystal swords so they will get to the fastest trap laying breakpoint quite easily IIRC. The FHR should definately not be neglected in this tournament, and the +vitality and mana probably makes it better than claws for this tournament.

Awesome progress, guys. And yes, I read every single update and enjoy it a lot

Edit: Easily was not exactly true. But Long Swords have WSM of -10 while the other two have 0, so it reaches trap laying breakpoints more easily. You still need quite a bit of IAS (89) to reach the fastest trap laying speed with a Long Sword compared to the fastest claw (WSM -30) which needs 42% IAS.

base weapon speed effects trap laying speed? I realise IAS effects it, but I did not realise the weapon speed was taken into account as well.

 

[Morathi1]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

@Cor Blimey.

- Re-running is not allowed for this tournament. So no you cannot reclear for bodies to fight bosses, or anything for that matter.

-I believe it also includes skills as you mentioned. So with gear + any resist enhancing skills, must be equal or < 50. Also conviction doesn't improve your resistances, it takes it away from monsters :tongue:.

 

[Thomh]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

I don`t think summoners would be allowed to reclear areas for bodies. It shouldn`t be that hard to get some corpses with curses and a merc so it doesn`t look like a big handicap.

The resists include everything. Your LCS can only show 50 to every resist with a couple of exceptions.
-Shrines are allowed.
- Conviction will lower your resistances. Too bad.....you`re not allowed to compensate by adding resistances.

No cap on damage reduction AFAIK, and it would be pretty close to impossible to get more than 50% (the cap is 50 %, but excess DR% could be used to overstack against Amplify damage and decreipify) in a Single Pass tournament.

Edit@CorBlimey: Here are the tables for everything assassinny (nice word I invented there), taken from the assassin forum.

 

[Cor Blimey]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

ah I meant salvation. So no skill bonuses to resists? Okey dokey.

I realise there are big diminishing returns and a hard cap on dr. I meant is there a limit imposed by this gameplay mode? Apparently not so..great. +dr is fairly easy to gamble for and, with the massive life restrictions, might make a big difference (I have not run the numbers but...)

thanks,

edit: and you cannot have a merc with summons, so a summoner necro that has made its way to hell worldstone keep level 2 waypoint, and joins the game there, would have to either leave some lower act areas clear to start the corpse machine rolling, or would have to pretty confident of being able to solo a hell Death Knight or Magi snakes etc..hehe I can visualise the stress that situation would cause.

 

[Thomh]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

Haha, my brain didn`t function properly Hm, that is a problem for summoners, I guess golem + IM will have to do to get the first corpse then

 

[Ohomemgrande1]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

I agree, I hate how you have to resummon your army at the start of a new session. I guess that you can use the Moor on /p1...but I would like for you to try using Iron Maiden/Attract on monsters where you are "supposed to be" first. Wouldn't that work? If it's not feasible, the Moor would be a backup plan.

@ Cor: There is this option for starting a session provided you ended your last session with a full army.

As far as Act Bosses are concerned, I plan on leaving some corpse harvesting areas later on in the game but I think for normal, the old "CG+IM" trick will work. I know that will at least take me through Normal because I've done it before.

 

[Cor Blimey]

Re: The Certain Death Tournament.

ah, that makes sense.

yes, for normal it is not really a problem.

I have tried to wand some hell fallen to death before on a previous necro. Suffice it to say, a wand damage of 5-10 takes rather a long time