The Committed Tournament

[Kestegs]

I think it's a new game as well, but now I'm not sure. I wouldn't think it wouldn't take that long, but I wouldn't be picky about the level, as he should level fast.

Summoner druid should be solid through NM actually. Poison creeper is good for a point at least to stop regen if you need it. Another point in another creeper is also worth it for corpse disposal. HoW or the Life spirit are up to your call, might want them both situationally.

Diablo will indeed be tough. If you're lucky enough to get an amn before him then an edge bow would help a ton. Maybe even spirit of barbs + summon spamming might work.

 

[OldSoldier1]

My summoner druid in the No-Vitality Tournament didn't slow down until hell difficulty, then it became a bit of a slogfest.

 

[Maltatai]

I think it's a new game as well, but now I'm not sure.

Yes, a new game is required. At least you don't have to hire all the others to empty the list...

For the summoner druid I think one point in all the vines and the rest in spirit wolves sounds optimal, since the vines would be mainly for corpse control. But maybe you can make it work with a bit more offensive tactics and benefit more from a better carrion vine, if you fell like it.

 

[jiansonz]

More than halfway through Act I NM now. It was pretty slow going the first two sessions. However, somewhere in the Crypt/Mausoleum, I found a 3-socket Cedar Bow. Made 'Edge' in this for the next session and yikes, did it ever made a big difference! Blaise's armor gives a decent straight +damage boost, and the big IAS on this new bow makes all that (and the lightning damage from her circlet) apply faster. For most monsters in this act, I can go all out Dim Vision and still have a decent killing speed. We do get slowed down a little by high-life monsters that aren't demons or undead, like Brutes.
Anyway, I think Blaise's setup is good enough to get us through Act II. Levelling is good there. Getting to level 60 or thereabouts will improve our chances to gamble a nice bow to upgrade, if I decice to go that route.

Geezer's Bone Shield of Deflection is now down to 12% blocking. Still helps a little the few times I need it:

but I guess it's soon time to look for something with more resists for the late game. After finding a few charms, the lightning resist is now a much healthier 50%. The others are fire 75, cold -3 and poison 30. Approaching 700 life.

Other finds lately have been Angelic Wings and Sickle (alas, the nice 3-combo is forbidden because of the MF on it), Hwanin's Blessing, a 4s Double Bow (candidate for Blaise's first Harmony) and a Dol rune.

Dim Vision and Decrepify are maxed, Attract has a few points. Working on Lower Resist now.


[Highlight]Destroyer Geezer the all-Vitality Curses Necro and Blaise the Fire Rogue, level 51, NM Outer Cloister next[/Highlight]

 

[Kestegs]

I've been a bit lazy lately, but here's a table update at last!

Table of Heroes:
Forum Name        Class                   Char Name  LVL  ACT  Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
kestegs           Elemental Druid         Rhett      86   A5(H)  Guardian
Jiansonz          Summon Necromancer      Mago       85   A5(H)  Guardian
OldSoldier        Shift Druid             Whitefang  85   A5(H)  *Guardian
Norcim105         P&B Necromancer         Bones      84   A3(H)  Kurast Docks
Turbocannon       Shadow Assassin         Ruby       52   A2(NM) Lut Gholein
Jiansonz          Curse Necromancer       Geezer     51   A1(NM) Outer Cloister
felixbavaria      Shadow Assassin         Cisa       48   A1(NM) Rogue Encampment
Adam Vrana        Shadow Assassin         YAJIRUSHI  48   A1(NM) Rogue Encampment
Toa3t             Bow Amazon              Marnie     14   A1     Blood moor
logoutzero        Warcry Barbarian        Tremolo    11   A1     Stony field
jamesixgun        Bow Amazon              Fatema     11   A1     Cold plains

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fallen (RIP):
Forum Name        Class                   Char Name  LVL  ACT  Area
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Azimuthus         Trap Assassin           Fury       80   A5(H)  Ancients
felixbavaria      Bow Amazon              Paige      78   A2(H)  CVT L1
Bladejj           Lightning Sorceress     Element    78   A1(H)  The Hole L1
OldSoldier        P&B Necromancer         Splat      77   A1(H)  The Hole L1
japanzaman        Martial Assassin        Highheels  70   A1[H]  Underground Passage
OldSoldier        Bow Amazon              Sharon     69   A5(H)  Crystaline Passage
Dazliare          Fire Sorc               Quelana    61   A3(NM) Flayer Jungle
Pb_pal            Shift Druid             Yau        60   A3[NM] Spider Forest
Southpaw8668      Javalein Amazon         Ema        55   A2[NM] Duriel
logoutzero        Warcry Barbarian        Barry      51   A1(NM) Jail
Dezrok            Martial Assassin        Marita     50   A1(NM) The Cave L2
ranagrande        Summon Druid            Orbin      34   A4     Diablo
Southpaw8668      Summon Necromancer      Krelos     30   A3     UK temples
Dazliare          Fire Sorc               Atronach   19   A1     Catacombs
Collateral.Damage Combat Paladin          Parker     15   A1     Stony field
GooberGrape       Shift Druid             Vilkas     14   A1     Black Marsh
Dazliare          Fire Sorc               ???        12   A1     Stony field
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*Technically disqualified after accidental ancients reroll

 

[NoisemakerArrow]

I guess if you horde charms

Hoard.

Wesley was such a sissy. Clingy and insecure.

 

[skoolbus1]

The itch came back. Probably haven't played D2 is five years, but this should be fun. We'll see if I even manage to make it out of Act 1.

Sparkles the all Energy Lightning Sorceress, lvl 1, Rogue Encampment - normal

 

[Kestegs]

Welcome back, good luck!

 

[jiansonz]

We move on. Slowly but usually very safely. The only time where it was at least a bit difficult was in this fight:

Painful with so bad blocking. If I make it here a third time, I don't think I can tank her.

As with most characters that can't kill fast, the odd mummy sarcophagus situation can get tricky. I had one such encounter in the CVT, where a stubborn Guardian refused to give chase (because there was always at least one mummy within sight). So I chased him off to the side with Terror, and kept Dimming him:

My Teleport staff is on the switch full-time now, and worked (us usual) perfectly in Fangskin's lair. Only two Embalmed up by the altar, and they are super slow when Decrepified.

I have some runewords in mind that will be awesome, but the rune luck has been pretty bad. I am well stocked up to Thul, but then there's only Hel, Dol x2, Shael x2 and Amn x2 in my stash. I have some hope I can get something nice from the Specters and Apparitions here in late Act II.


[Highlight]Destroyer Geezer the all-Vitality Curses Necro and Blaise the Fire Rogue, level 57, NM Arcane Sanctuary next[/Highlight]

 

[skoolbus1]

The itch came back. Probably haven't played D2 is five years, but this should be fun. We'll see if I even manage to make it out of Act 1.

Sparkles the all Energy Lightning Sorceress, lvl 1, Rogue Encampment - normal

Heh, as suspected, did not make it out of act 1, died to Andariel. I was around 90 health, and every time I got poisoned (aka every attack) it decimated my health.

 

[skoolbus1]

I decided to try out a different character, and abandon the all energy plan. Went with an Amazon using the javelin and spear tree and even distribution of stat points. This made the early game much more manageable. Andariel was extremely easy compared to last time. I did find a Pelta Lunata, so that was a major help.

Starry the equally balanced Javazon, level 20, Lut Gholein

 

[skoolbus1]

Fought through Act II with Starry, pumping Charged Strike every time she levels. Before getting to ~7 points in it, any champ pack Starry came across was a struggle. Ancient Kaa depleted my entire rejuv supply and scared me a few times. She found a Shadowfang from a rat nest in the claw viper temple (I think). Once reaching Act V and hiring a mercenary, this sword will see a lot of use. As Charged Strike got more and more points, things got easier and easier. Duriel was a pushover.

View attachment 2665





























All of the drops were sold.
Began Act III, and by this time Starry had 10+ points in Charged Strike, which melts everything on the screen. One notable drop so far in Act III was this, turned out to be a Nokozan Relic, which will provide a lot of safety in Act IV.

View attachment 2666




























About to resume from Lower Kurast. Should have a lot of time today to make more progress, so we'll see.

Starry the equally balanced Javazon, level 30, Lower Kurast

 

[Vildecor]

I'm gonna join in with a Passive Zon, which I've kinda been wanting to try anyway. She'll be accompanied by an Act I merc, and will probably be going p8 through all Acts of normal and NM, p1 in Hell. Oh, and even stat distribution.

 

[jiansonz]

I was trying out some Attract in the Arcane Sanctuary, mostly for practice now that things still aren't too dangerous. It will usually help distracting a few enemies but it also often wakes up more monsters than I want it to, which can result in dense mobs:

Not that it was any real danger - this area is large enough to kite them around while I keep Decepifying them.

Had a tricky situation in one of the tombs. An end room had two Unraveler bosses plus three regular ones. The bosses advanced towards us, close enough to see the large pile of skeletons (their minions and some others) we had killed in the starting area. This is bad. I have no reliable corpse disposal at my...disposal. So I did the logical thing, run past the bosses and into the end room. The plan was to take out the remaining monsters, then lure the bosses back in here, away from skeleton corpses. But it was not that straightforward, because:

Oops. Two skeletons still here, and a vampire boss pack. Good thing we are very fire resistant. The plan did work in the end, but it got messy.

Duriel was less painful to tank than Andariel was. 85% cold resist helped, of course. I achieved this by putting on a 30% Cobalt ring I had found the session earlier, plus drank a bunch of thawing potions.

Sszark never even got a chance to hit us:

Geezer led Sszark on ring-around-the-rosie laps around that pillar. It was a glorious testament to the power of high level Decrepify.

Recent finds:
* Rogue's Bow
* Ruby (27% fire resist) Jewel of Fervor
* Moser's Blessed Circle
* Ko rune
* Guillaume's Face

Some great finds there. Guillaume's is one of only three off-weapon CB sources a merc can use, and it also has Deadly Strike. The Ko rune means I can make a Harmony bow. It can be a bow for Blaise that will do good damage of four types. Best candidates I have collected are Double Bow and Large Siege Bow, but I am also prepared to wait for Act V NM, where I am likely to find a couple of Blade Bows (a plain white one has half chance of 4 sockets with the recipe). Another option is to make one for Geezer, in a Hunter's Bow. This will allow me to have a recastable summon - a disposable target for the Thorns that Blaise's current bow provides. We'll see.


[Highlight]Destroyer Geezer the all-Vitality Curses Necro and Blaise the Fire Rogue, level 61, NM Lower Kurast next[/Highlight]

 

[OldSoldier1]

Would you be able to hit anything with the (Harmony) bow yourself if Blaise casts Inner Sight or will it be futile still? Sounds like a Harmony Bow and an Edge bow are pretty synergistic with castable tanks and thorns but it would also be nice if you could score a hit periodically to take advantage of the elemental damage inherent in a Harmony. I think you'd find use for the revives as well if you chose to wield it.

 

[jiansonz]

Would you be able to hit anything with the (Harmony) bow yourself if Blaise casts Inner Sight or will it be futile still? Sounds like a Harmony Bow and an Edge bow are pretty synergistic with castable tanks and thorns but it would also be nice if you could score a hit periodically to take advantage of the elemental damage inherent in a Harmony. I think you'd find use for the revives as well if you chose to wield it.

Yes, I can hit Inner Sighted monsters reasonably well. Against things like Hulks (who take time to kill with Edge since they are not undead or demons), I often hit them once each to trigger the PMH from my belt, plus Open Wounds (from Gnasher) is of course also helpful. A cold damage charm helps me to see if I have scored a hit (as of now, Blaise doesn't do any cold damage).

 

[Vildecor]

Okay, time for my first update.

Atalanta, the "Passive" Zon, started off pretty well. My first thoughts were to use a 2-hander most of the time, since the block rate for Amazons using any swinging weapon is ridiculously slow. Planned skill distribution will probably be something like this:

D/A/E - at least 5 in each
Penetrate - 20
Valk - at least 17
Decoy - 20
Critical Strike - 20, why not?
The rest will be dumped in D/A/E

I almost immediately started second guessing putting so many points in Dodge and Avoid. Progressing through Act I, my thoughts were along the lines of: Ah, man...that's 8 frames that I'm not attacking! I had to start playing a bit more cautiously once I headed into the Monastery. Using a sapphire/topaz-socketed Claymore made things die quickly, but I didn't wanna be surrounded and pounded on.

A chest in the Jail had a nice surprise inside it. I was pretty happy with these. Fire resist is so useful in Act I. In addition to the fire resist I already had in other slots and from charms, I was pretty unphased by Dark One Shamans, Gargoyle Traps, and Vampires.

I got surprise attacked going down to the second jail level:

His spawn area was right around the first left turn. His group woke up right as I started headed that way. I quickly backed up, switched to a Pilum and headed for safety. Itonya, my cold rouge, actually survived this as I headed back up the stairs and healed back in town. We dropped back in and took them out from the safety of the jail area at the entrance to the level.

The Andariel fight was no biggie. I did the reverse portal park on her (so glad I read about that in this thread!) and cleared everything else out first. Switched over to a Pilum and shield, quaffed some antidotes and poked away with my rogue doing most of the damage. She dropped nothing useful.

Once I got to Act II, it was time for some shopping. I decided sticking with a 2-hander just wasn't going to cut it if I was going to be tanking most of the mobs without crowd control (at least until I get a Valk). Much safer to use a shield. I spent an hour trying to get a Mechanic's Bone Shield of Deflecting from Drognan, but he was a miser. I saw both mods plenty of times but, alas, never together. I settled on this. 42 defense is pretty sweet for a bone shield. Larzuk can always socket it for me to throw in a pDiamond or two. 30% FBR brought my blocking animation down from 17 frames to 11! This was MUCH more doable.

The countess had given me an Eth rune, and I found a Tal rune in the jails or catacombs, so I made 'Stealth' in a piece of Chainmail. I think my resists starting out Act II were somewhere around 75 fire/7 cold/33 lightning/47 poison. Add that to 63% chance to block, and I was quite ready to jump in the fray!

While in the sewers, I realized going sword/shield was a VERY good decision. I barely got hit by anything thanks to my defense, my high block rate, and 5 points each in Dodge and Avoid. I'm now quite happy placing those skills there. I laughed as skeleton archers and mages tried to throw their fire at me.

A chest (again) in the Stony Tombs gave me a present. This was a mixed blessing. It felt like a slap in the face after I spent so much time going after that Bone Shield. Still, it gives 40% FBR, giving me a 10 frame block rate. I figured I'd use it to help me be able to wield a Long Sword sooner. The extra Vitality is nice also.

Before I headed into the Halls of the Dead, I was able to equip a Vicious Long Sword of Readiness, thanks to some charms and a bit of ring shuffling. Fara, by the way, was just as much a scrooge as Drognan. She never had any 2-socketed long swords (for steel/strength) for sale. Every single one was magic. Seeing the above-mentioned sword was enough for me at the moment though. We'd have words with Fara later.

The Halls of the Dead were SO much fun. Atalanta started to build into a blood frenzy. Guarded as well as she was now, she was no longer happy to passively stand in doorways and let enemies slowly funnel through. She charged straight in.

This became her normal strategy. She went straight to her kill targets and let everything else surround her as they wished. She can tank SO well right now. Whole packs can go down before she needs to use a health pot. She even tried some alternative battlefield strategies.

Atalanta calls this one the "Come and Get Me" maneuver. Bloodwitch the Wild didn't couldn't get a hit to connect in order to curse me. The cube was mine.

So far, this build has surprised me. I wasn't sure how well it would do without any offensive abilites other than Attack. So far so good. As long as I can find gear to keep my health pool and resistances up to par, she may do quite well.

Right now she is dreaming of finding the runes to make 'Passion' so she can use Zeal. We'll just have to see.

Atalanta, the Passivezon, level 23 -- off to the Far Oasis

(Edit: called Fara Charsi. Whoops...Edit 2: fixed a SS link to my Stony Tomb drop)

 

[Kestegs]

Glad to see you're enjoying the character and that it's doing so well!

I've always thought it would be fun to have a very defensive zon. Will be interesting to see how well she can continue to tank.

 

[felixbavaria1]

Good luck with your passivezon, they are indeed very safe to play. Remember that you can make "Strength" in daggers, which is very good for taking down champions and bosses (daggers count as thrusting weapons, for which Amazons have a very high base block rate).

 

[jiansonz]

(daggers count as thrusting weapons, for which Amazons have a very high base block rate).

Not to mention attack speed. A WSM=0 dagger gives her 12 frames per attack, the fastest of all classes.