The Official Ex-RuST SCL "Journey to Hell" Group Thread

A question

I know that our intent is to visit each area once and to complete the quests and wps together. I had the impression that we were going to go through and clear the area of all monsters before continuing. Any input on this? I am okay with the way things are going but just wanted to see if clearing all areas before continuing would maximize our experience potential.

Anywho, Thanks for the assist last night, see you all tonight.

Level 21 Dragon Talon/Phoenix strike Assassin, no notable gear, Did manage stealth armor and nadir helm... but that isnt too spectacular.

Tlaloc24
 
Hey, gang. About to hop on to continue my never-ending merc levelling.

I finally managed to get up a rudimentary webpage: click here. Links for roster and progress are at the bottom. Created with Microsoft FrontPage, b/c my host site is compatible and it's what I have, but I wasn't able to update the roster page with tlaloc and dnmorton's levels just now. I'll mess with it more tomorrow.

see ya soon

EDIT: Yes, tlaloc, I agree with wanting to do a little more area-clearing. Again, the intent is not to rush. Last night, I barely got to the 1st level of the palace cellar before someone had a tp up to Arcane.
 
actually i havent died yet and being a pure hardcore player, i doubt i will die, (knocking on wood) but i am building this char alot dif than i would on hc, that is i tend to get a shitload of vita on hc, i.e. my hc avenger using griz set has like 120 base str 70 base dext and like 300+ base vita, this one im thinking will be like 200/100/150-200

also wath, what about your godly enchant staff.... those things honestly go for ist to gul if not more on hardcore ladder useast :-) lol and i got it for you relativedly cheap :-) plus it helps the rest of us out a ton....
 
First and foremost, yes, my godly Leaf staff is sweet with a capital sweet. They found me a 2os gnarled staff with +3 Enchant, +1 Inferno, and +x Lightning. I haven't even hit fire mastery yet and I'm already throwing around 10-minute chants. Nice. If you bastards would just sit still long enough for me to cast it on you...

Another fun session tonight. We had all eight players, played all of act 3, plus Izual and the River wp. Everyone will now do their forges on their own. We'll reconvene either Monday or Tuesday. I personally have a holiday dinner Monday, and I'm not sure what time I'll be home and in what shape I'll be to play. We'll see.

I'm slowly figuring out FrontPage and my hosting site. I have updated roster and progress pages here: Ex-RuST USWest SCL "Journey to Hell" Page. It's bland, but informative. Check it out!
 
Just to let you all know where I am at. I did an MF run on Mephisto last night (Hsaru Belt and Isenhart Armour, wihch I kept if anyone needs) before Hellforge (Ral) so I levelled up to 27 3/4. My skeletons are starting to get weak, but that's because I have been getting all my curses, only 3 left now so they should be getting stronger again soon. I just hope Attract is enough to get me my first body in a game, otherwise I'm gonna be poking things with a puny stick in order to get my first skeleton. I don't think I'll bother getting other Golems or Revives, better to just make my skellies 4 points stronger, unless someone sees the need for Iron Golem and Revives. Right now I have (I think): 1pt in each Curse except Confuse, Attract and Lower Resist, 1 pt in Teeth, Corpse Explosion, 6 pts each in Skelton Warriors, Skeleton Mages, Skeleton Mastery, 1 pt in Clay Golem and Golem Mastery, 2 pt in Summon Resist.

At the moment I have 18% mf chipped helm, 16%mf flawed armour, 12% mf ring, 26% Nagel, 15%mf gloves, 17% mf boots or 12%mf/+10% cold resist boots and 22% amulet. Those Topaz that I got last night were upgraded next game thanks to 2 Gem Shrines, so I have 2 perfect and a flawless. Looking for a 2 soc Bone Helm now and a 3 soc armour (prefer chain mail). I'm debating whether I should use whatever 3 soc armour drops, or whether to take the first exceptional that comes along, I don't want to waste topazes but I also don't want those topazes sitting in my stash until Hell because I was waiting for the ideal item. I'm putting old mf gear on my merc so if anyone else wants some stuff just ask me, its a good idea that we all have at least some mf on us.

Can we all please stay as much as possible in one group, and maybe even do some walking? We all have different run speeds so when we are running, like we have been, we end up with a long green line on the map of everyone running through the Flayer Jungle. When we stay together we survive longer and get more experience. Someone keeps running forward, playing the scout trying to find the wp or the stairs. I'm not sure who it is that keeps doing this, but we need you with us, not wandering off alone. So it takes five minutes more to find the wp? It's also more experience. We also need to know when people are going to town, so we can all take it a bit slower. When one of us needs to go to town, everyone else should walk so we can all keep up, I went to town a couple of times last night only to return and find you all completely off my map. We also need one person (Wathombe?) to open a tp at the entrance to every new area and another person a tp at all wps. It gets very confusing to see 9 tps in town all going to the same area. If we know that one tp is for the stairs and another is for the wp it narrows things down. Also, when we are running in a conga-line, as we have been, wps are easily missed when you are trying to close the gap and join up with the leaders of the pack.
 
Sokar Rostau said:
Can we all please stay as much as possible in one group, and maybe even do some walking? We all have different run speeds so when we are running, like we have been, we end up with a long green line on the map of everyone running through the Flayer Jungle. When we stay together we survive longer and get more experience. Someone keeps running forward, playing the scout trying to find the wp or the stairs. I'm not sure who it is that keeps doing this, but we need you with us, not wandering off alone. So it takes five minutes more to find the wp? It's also more experience. We also need to know when people are going to town, so we can all take it a bit slower. When one of us needs to go to town, everyone else should walk so we can all keep up, I went to town a couple of times last night only to return and find you all completely off my map. We also need one person (Wathombe?) to open a tp at the entrance to every new area and another person a tp at all wps. It gets very confusing to see 9 tps in town all going to the same area. If we know that one tp is for the stairs and another is for the wp it narrows things down. Also, when we are running in a conga-line, as we have been, wps are easily missed when you are trying to close the gap and join up with the leaders of the pack.
Click to expand...

I can dig it, perhaps we should discuss it tonight or tomorrow night... I think I may have been guilty of doing just that yesterday, even after I had posted something about the feeling that we are rushing through acts. THis isnt about racing to see how fast we can get to hell, its about the journey.
 
Re: Sticking together: There's a happy medium somewhere, I think. I do agree that we need to try to stay together more than we have been, though. It's less important now (in normal), but as we move into hell and even the later acts of nightmare, people are going to die if we don't stick together, particularly the non-melee, party-oriented types (i.e., me). Two other important reasons to take Sokar's notes to heart: 1) after Sparticus hits clvl 30, we're going to want to be close to his Conviction aura; and 2) if we stick together, go to town at roughly the same time, come back from town at roughly the same time, and use the same tps/wps, I will be able to enchant more of you and more of your mercs/minions. Just some thoughts.

AO4: I stupidly forgot to write down your character's correct spelling again last night. Is it Aellopos?
 
Merick said:
If there's still room on the east team (you said it starts after Christmas in the runeword thread, right?) I'd be willing to use any build.
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Since we are yet to get organized I can unequivacbly say yes there is room.
We have a tentative roster of:
Remlin
Cherokee
Corporeal Ghost (after the 3rd)
Merick
??Did I miss anyone??

Is anyone else willing to put in the regular times to play together?

Post in this thread.
 
id be up for the east jth as well, what time is it, and having the experience for this one i think it will go a little faster :-)
 
Just a quick post: We got as far as Nihlathak. Party is working very well together, I think. I hit Fire Mastery, Spart hit Conviction, Sokar hit LR. All very nice. I was late, and I'm not sure if tlaloc and raskol were there before I showed, but if not they were missed.

Updated webpage: Ex-RuST USWest SCL "Journey to Hell" Page

(Is anybody using that thing?)

I'll give you guys a link to the enchantress guide I used with the missile enchant explanation in it, plus I'll figure what my actual penalty is as long as my FM is lvl 1 (it's the last thing I'll max, so that won't change for 10 or 15 levels). Of course, if we find a Raven, Hellcast, Kuko, or Demon Machine, it won't matter. ;)

Night, all.
 
Morning, all.

Some info on Enchant, Fire Mastery, synergies, the "double Fire Mastery bonus" for my sorc, and melee vs. missile.

First of all, here's MongoJerry's Enchantress Guide which explains some of the math and display oddities in Section A.

Now, as for my Enchant at current clvl and slvls: I have the uber-Leaf staff on switch for casting Enchant. This yields slvl 18 Enchant (slvl 12 + 3 fire skills (Leaf) + 3 Enchant (Leaf)), slvl 14 Warmth (+ skills are not added to synergies), and slvl 4 Fire Mastery (slvl 1 FM + 3 fire skills (Leaf)):
57-76 fire dmg (Chant) * 2.26 (Warmth @ +126%) * 1.51 (FM @ +51%) = 196-261 fire dmg​
This is the fire dmg that's added to any of your characters, mercs, or minions. Now, when I switch back to my bow, the displayed fire damage includes an additional factor of Fire Mastery at slvl 1 (b/c the + 3 fire skills is on switch, not on my bow):
196-261 * 1.3 (FM @ +30%) = 255-339​
That damage would be correct if I were using a melee weapon. However, according to MongoJerry's extensive tests and code-poking, missile weapons do not carry the additional factor of Fire Mastery, so my actual damage with my bow is anywhere from 58-78 points less than displayed.

My total displayed damage (which includes cedar bow base dmg and a 1-56 light dmg mod and must include some charm or other item) is 318-500 (actually 500 and change, but I can't remember the change). My actual damage is 260-422ish. Clearly, my actual damage is not 50% of my displayed damage. In actuality, the penalty is (100% - (1 / 1.3)%) of fire damage, or 23% of fire damage, at my current level.

Finally, if and when I can find a Raven Claw, Hellcast, Kuko, or Demon Machine, the explosions from the exploding arrows or bolts will carry the additional factor of Fire Mastery. Further, the explosions are area damage, and cover a greater area than Fireball. Further still, if I find a Razortail or use the Kuko (or both), the explosions will trigger on every target pierced. For curiosity's sake, I calculated what my area explosion damage would be with my Leaf staff, Enchant, Warmth, and Fire Mastery maxed, and no other skills gear found: 2288-2854. Nice, eh?
 
Be-Were said:
id be up for the east jth as well, what time is it, and having the experience for this one i think it will go a little faster :-)
Click to expand...

We were looking at 8-10pm or more likely 9-11pm EST. Will start after the weekend.
 
Quick post: we finished normal tonight. Some good gear starting to turn up, and the party's really clicking. raskol and tlaloc are catching up on their own and will hopefully be back with us tomorrow night.

Updated: Ex-RuST USWest SCL "Journey to Hell" Page

I moved the "roster" and "progress" links to the top so they'll be easier to see.

dnmorton and Ax, I may have gotten your levels switched, and if so, I apologize.

Night, all.
 
And me

AlphaOmega4 said:
yes, me (filler, need 10 characacters)
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I'm also available if it doesn't interfere with west JoTH or some of the other things I'm doing. 8-12PMEST (roughly 9-11) was about the time I discussed before, that would leave some time - usually - between JoTHs to do things with someone else or outside of D2. Not sure if that someone else is going to participate, as he's more interested in getting a CLvl99 on ladder.

Speaking of which, although this whole concept is alright by itself, it's supposed to be making us more party oriented so the 'scouting' issue spoken of by Sokar and Wathombe is legitimate, but also I think we should try to extend our playing times - slowly - in order to get used to extended sessions and be prepared for LS3 when it happens, as that's a long-term lesson learned from what we are doing here. The better we are at that the easier and quicker it will be to hit CLvl99 in LS3, assuming there is one. If you can get on up to 30min earlier or stay 30min later it means more hunting or actually playing. Four-hour sessions aren't unheardof, but my butt tends to get numb without a break in the action.
 
i cannot go any later, of course i am not saying that the team cannot, i will be happy to do some things on my own. starting earlier sounds great to me though, i also see that starting before 10:00 is unfeasible for some ppl [/mixed feelings]
 
Morning, all.

Length of play: There will be occasional nights on which I can start before 10:00 (when my wife falls asleep early), but I cannot ever be certain when that will be. I'm okay going late from time to time, but not every night. In fact, I am more likely to be able to play longer if we take one or two nights a week off, but that might be asking a bit much. ;) Perhaps those who are on early could start with a few mf runs at 9:30, then we can start questing when the night owls like myself log on.

Scheduling: Just a word about scheduling as the holiday approaches: Firstly, I would propose that we suspend questing and levelling on the nights of 24 and 25 Dec, then resume on Sunday 26 Dec. I may be on late on the 25th for mf or merc levelling or whatever, but I cannot be sure. Also, my parents arrive for a holiday visit tomorrow (Thursday), so between preparing tonight and visiting tomorrow night, my timing might be a bit touch and go. If I fall behind I can catch up on my own over the proposed 2-day Christmas break.
 
Sorry about my no-show tonight. Work and Christmas takes up a lot of time at the moment.

I'll try and get on later tonight or sometime tomorrow to catch up. What are the arrangements for Christmas btw? Are we continuing or taking a few days break? I think a break is the best bet. This discounts the possibility of that impossibly awkward moment when you have to say "Excuse me Grandma, Aunt Betty, but I have to go and slaughter the Legions of Hell for 2 hours, keep my pudding warm for me and I'll be back later."

Ax2Grind: There are a few problems I have with "scouting". First of all, there is no requirement for it, the monsters on the way to our destination must be dealt with one way or another. As you say we are supposed to be working in a group. This means staying in a group and not going off and doing your own thing. A scout goes a little forward of a party to see danger first then rejoins the group to face said danger. Scout for a screen or two at most, but forget about running off alone for the whole area. This is not a rush, and running to the stairs or wp serves no good purpose for anyone. When 7 members of the party are on level one of the Palace (to use Wathombes example), and one member runs through three entire floors to open a tp at Arcane Sanctuary one of a few things are happening.

1) Your character is powerful and can kill all in your way. If you are this powerful your place is with the group not on your own. You gain experience, we lose it.

2) You are not particularly powerful but you can run fast. You run through the area stirring up monsters in a mad dash to your destination. This leaves the rest of the party to deal with 40 stirred up Flayers rather than the 10 or so we would otherwise have faced. This slows us all down. We gain experience, you lose it.

3) We are all losing experience from three levels of the Palace because the scout killed nothing while runnning to the Arcane Sanctuary and simply opened a tp at the wp.

Nightmare and Hell are a different story. We MUST stick together in NM and Hell. One of the ideas underlying this party is that no cookie-cutters means we must rely on each other, we are trying to form a party that works well together. Having one of our group run off and "scout" means we are without them when we need them. It also leaves us, and the scout, exposed to attack, which will take longer to fend off making the Journey to Hell last a lot longer than it should. It will last even longer when we keep dieing and have to make up for lost experience (which, in turn, means we are going into areas underpowered because of lower clvls). All our characters, except Wathombe's, deal different types of damage and when immunities come into play we all need to be together.

Speaking of levels, I noticed last night that the experience penalty had kicked in for Wathombe. I don't know if it has been noticeable yet, but this is something we need to keep under control. Wathombe was level 34 while someone else was level 39 (Be-Were's Avenger I think), so Wathombe is only getting 90% (?) of his deserved experience. This will build up to the point where Wathombe will be gaining no levels while the rest of us gain 2-3 per game if we do not nip it in the bud. We need to stay within 5 levels of each other. That said it's probably time I went and leveled to 45...
 
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