Re: The Certain Death Tournament.
Morte and Iantha made it through the jungle with not too much trouble. There were Gloams in the Marsh, spicing it up a bit with some Ouch! moments, but other than that, steady and safe. A 4s Gothic Plate dropped in the Flayer Jungle. Finally...
When I got to Lower Kurast, I
really understood just how very annoying the ctc Terror on Iantha´s bow can be! This had been tolerable in the jungle because I was either:
- fighting slow monsters (like Hulks), meaning I could Amp/Decrep them again, and Iantha would score many good hits as they fled. Sometimes, the fleeing was even useful.
- fighting wimpy monsters (like flayers), meaning it didn´t matter much if they were fleeing, since Iantha´s arrows would pin them into hit recovery anyway.
- fighting in confined areas (dungeons or "pockets" in the jungle) meaning monsters couldn´t flee that far before they came back for more punishment (Meaning: they didn´t regenerate much).
But now all kinds of trouble with with fleeing reared its ugly head. Reasonably sturdy monsters (Zakarumites and apes that required a dozen arrows to kill them) that are quite fast, and have access to very long strethes they can run most of the time. Man, was that annoying! Sure, I could imprison some of them (bosses in particular) but that is not a solution I want to overuse, as it carries some risks that I have mentioned before. This was so damn annoying that I promised myself a major gambling spree after this area. I was ready to settle for slightly less damage if I could just get rid of the fleeing!
As it tuned out,
no gambling is needed at the moment. Yay! Wow, does this bow bring back memories. In the first Randomly Challenged tourney, it was my amazon Lucky´s most prized possesion. And even before that (around 2002), in my early days of wacky characters, it was the key item for one of my most memorable characters, Mike the Mojomancer and his companion Isolde. They also found it in this act (dropped by Icehawk Riftwing that time).
Iantha tried it out in Swampy Pit. I have been told that the explosive arrows do not work for a mercenary, but this bow was still WAY better than Rune Harp. A little less physical damage (but faster attack, so it evens out a little), good fire damage and piercing, which is very nice. And NO DAMN FLEEING! :alright:
Oh yes, I´m holding off gambling now until I have a decent chance to get Cruel rares with the heavier bow types. That´s the level of hurtiness it will take to put Kuko Shakaku on the shelf.
I think I am going to postpone the Act III temples until later. Getting dumped right in the middle of an elementally strong bosspack would almost be suicide at this stage. If Morte survives to Conquerorhood, I will load up on more +life items (Blood crafts, mostly) and play the temples before moving on to Hell.
Onwards! :thumbup:
Status report at mid-Act III Nightmare
Stats & Bone skills (Even with some nice items, his life still sucks!)
Curses
Primary Gear:
* Artisan´s Great Helm with 3x Perfect Topaz
* Amulet of Luck (29)
* Milabrega´s Rod
* 4s Gothic Plate with 3x Perfect Topaz (working on the last one)
* Milabrega´s Orb
* Ocher (13) Light Gauntlets of Fortune (25)
* Rare Ring with 5% ctc level 3 Chain Lighting on Attack, +62 AR, Resist Lightning 26%, Resist Fire 17% and +11% MF
* Crafted Mesh Belt with +49 life, Poison Length Reduced by 25% and some minor bonuses
* Fortuitous Ring of Chance (22)
* Cobalt (27) Light Plates Boots of Luck (34)
* Steel (98) Grand Charm of Life (16)
* Amber (26) Grand Charm
* Russet (18) Grand Charm
* Large Charm of Sustenance (24)
* Garnet (11) Large Charm of Incineration
* Ruby (13) Large Charm
* Small Charm of Sustenance (15)
* Lapis (7) Small Charm
* Crimson (3) Small Charm of Fire
* Russet (7) Small Charm
* Garnet (9) Small Charm
* Ocher (6) Small Charm
* Coral (9) Small Charm
* Small Charm of Fortune (4)
* Small Charm of Fortune (5)
Weapon Switch
* Cruel (+286% ED) Throwing Spear
* Gargoyle Head with +2 Attract, +1 Bone Prison
(Listed Throw damage is 176-435, where almost everything is physical damage that can be boosted)
Iantha the Cold Rogue
* Artisan´s Great Helm with 2x Flawed Topaz and a Chipped Topaz
* Kuko Shakaku unique Cedar Bow (+158% ED)
* Twitchthroe unique Studded Leather
Blocking: 58% with Milabrega´s Orb, 62% with Gargoyle Head
Total MF: +329% for Iantha´s kills, +294% otherwise
[Highlight]Destroyer Morte the Mojo/Bonemancer and Iantha the Cold Rogue, level 62, NM Kurast Bazaar next[/Highlight]