The Passive Aggressive Tournament

@bladejj - Great progress again, best of luck against big D! Lovin those screenshots.

@queenEm - Awesome, glad to see you're liking your druid better. :)

@Bee - Great progress! The barb will definitely have to take a bit of a back seat to the merc I think, I'm interested to see what strategy you use.

Dazliare said:
You might consider reading about my barbarian Vladimir in the Skill-less tournament.
Click to expand...

This. In fact, if anyone wants me, I'll just be over there re-reading that whole thread. Awesome tournament.
 
Natasha, Visala, and Melody have cleared out the Frigid Highlands and rescued the sad barbarians. They all gained two levels each and are now levels 38, 38 and 9.

Natasha, Visala, and Melody, levels 38 ,38 and 9. Now in the Arreat Plateau. Next up: Arreat Plateau.
 
LittleGirl has moved on to act 2. Countess gave me Eld and Tal and Andariel was kind enough to grant me a Nagelring!! I also found from a random monster a Bane ash which is the first time ever for me I think.

I have assisted Atma in dealing out some bitter sweet revenge and am currently in the Sony Tombs. I really want to get my hands on the cube soon and start making some better jewels...

Edit: I hate cave leapers so much!!! HATE I TELL YOU!!!!

Little Girl, lvl 21. The Rocky Waste
 
Last edited:
Quick note on Relic the ironmancer and his (relatively) newly appointed barbarian sidekick. Things are really starting to pick up, and that's no understatement. I had to switch to /players 5 in NM Act IV due to battles becoming very slow and tedious. Due to the mercenary switch and some impressive gear upgrades, I was able to switch that to back to /players 8 a few areas into Act V and killing speed actually improved! The only character I've had with more killing power at this stage in the game was my no-vitality berserk / war cry barbarian who could 1 hit KO most enemies at this stage in the game at /players 8 (approx. 8k magic damage per hit).

I'll give a full report of the second half of Act IV and all of Act V, including full gear updates and finds, once nightmare is complete.


Relic the Ironmancer, with Bulwye the Barbarian - lvl 71, NM Ancients Way
 
Relic the ironmancer has been progressing nicely. The last update I made was in the ancients way ready to take on the ancients (which I did at players 8 just for fun!). With playing time scarce, I'd been preferring to play over making a proper update of NM act IV and V. Well that is still coming, but I was pretty excited about this find. Playing at players 5 does pay off I guess. This is the highest self found rune I've come across (previous to this was an Um many, many years ago). Does anyone have any good ideas on how to use it?

View attachment 1369
 
I have left the desert and are headed into the jungle. I have managed to find myself no less than 3 (THREE!!!) Nagelrings!! I know they are not that uncommon but three?

I have gambled a half decent Heavy Crossbow but it feels like it does very little damage still.

LittleGirl the Summoner druid, lvl 27, Kurast Docks
 
@bladejj - Congrats on the Conqueror, and great find on the Ist! The only realistic RW for it would be Delirium if you can score a Lem. I wouldn't do it though, as it will override your curses. I guess you could plug it into a weapon for some extra MF if you really want, or just save it to cube to a Gul if you find another one. Not that that will give you many more options though... Oh well, great find anyways, hopefully someone has some better ideas!

@queenEm - That is alot of Nagels, I think Calabi only saw 1 in her whole journey! Were any of them decent MF%?

And great progress again to everyone else, nice to see people are still moving along nicely. :)

I'll add in a new table due to the impressive progress. @bladejj if you can let me know Relic's current level, I'll edit that in. Stay safe everyone!

--

Code: 
The Proven (Guardians):
Forum Name     Class        Char Name      LVL    ACT       Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jiansonz       Sorceress    Sissy          87     ---       Full Game Clear
Pb_pal         Amazon       Calabi         88     ---       Full Game Clear

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Table of Heroes:
Forum Name     Class        Char Name      LVL    ACT       Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bladejj        Necromancer  Relic          77     A1(H)     Dark Wood
Zylo           Druid        Hoyt           59     A3(NM)    Kurast Docks
sivaeB         Necromancer  Toast          49     A2(NM)    Lut Gholein
felixbavaria   Sorceress    Swoosh         51     A1(NM)    Inner Cloister
Bee            Barbarian    Rocky          48     A1(NM)     Cold Plains
srrw           Druid        PurpleHaze     48     A1(NM)    Rogue Encampment
djmbbandie     Assassin     Natasha        38     A5        Arreat Plateau
Dazliare       Amazon       RIP_Vladimir   35     A5        Harrogath
kestegs        Necromancer  WallE          32     A4        Pandemonium Fortress
ranagrande     Barbarian    Beldric        28     A3        Kurast Docks
queenEm        Druid        LittleGirl     27     A3        Kurast Docks
pharphis       Sorceress    SlamDoorsShut  23     A2        Far Oasis
Morathi        Assassin     Carrisa        21     A2        Lut Gholein
Jocular        Assassin     ?????          14     A1        Stony Field/Dark Wood(?)
jamesixgun     Druid        John           13     A1        Dark Wood

------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Fallen (RIP):
Forum Name     Class        Char Name      LVL    ACT       Area
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
thefranklin    Druid        FollowTheBear  66     A4(NM)    Diablo
Southpaw8668   Necromancer  Hallow         61     A3(NM)    Great Marsh
Interdasting   Druid        Interdasting   29     A3        Flayer Dungeon
Southpaw8668   Amazon       Contessa       15     A1        Andariel
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
Last edited:
jiansonz said:
Isn't the main problem with this weapon type that it's really darn slow?
Click to expand...
Well yes I suppose it is but since my main source of damage should be the bear later on it doesn't bother me. But since this is the furthest I have gotten with a druid I don't know :)

Pb_pal said:


[USER=341474]@queenEm - That is alot of Nagels, I think Calabi only saw 1 in her whole journey! Were any of them decent MF%?
[/USER]
Click to expand...

They are 18, 25 and 29 so not bad I think
 
Currently level 77 and in the Dark Wood.

However, just after firing D2 tonight, I ran into quite a dilemma. Within the first few minutes of playing I found the following two, potentially game changing items.

First was this beauty (perfect damage roll)

Athena's Wrath
Battle Scythe
Two-Hand Damage: 75 to 187
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Dexterity: 72
Required Strength: 72
Required Level: 42
Polearm Class - Very Fast Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 70
Fingerprint: 0xbf832fc5
+15 to Dexterity
+180% Enhanced Damage
+1 to Druid Skill Levels
30% Increased Attack Speed
+1 to Life (Based on Character Level)
+1 to Maximum Damage (Based on Character Level)
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired)


Second was this long awaited rune for an exceptional weapon upgrade (found the Pul during Act 3 NM).

View attachment 1382

So now is the important question, what to do with my mercenary and eventual weapon. I can upgrade an exceptional unique weapon to elite. In addition, I still have my NM socketing reward available. Currently, Bulwye the Barbarian, is faring very well with his 'Strength' Legend Sword. Below are my following options.

Barbarian

1) Current weapon - 'Strength' Legend Sword. Pros: Provides crushing blow which, when coupled with the intrinsic speed-10 speed plus with the +45% IAS on 'Treachery' make his very fast and quite deadly. I am cruising on players 5 in act I hell. Cons: low damage

2) Upgrade Bing Sz Wang - Dacian Falx. Pros: Freezing, cold damage, decent damage. Cons: slow base speed (10). However, when upgraded, the speed increased to (-10) which would be awesome with Treachery.

Other uniques are Kinemil's Awl, Blood Crescent, Colossus Sword (2 sockets).

Desert Guard

1) Upgrade the Athena's Wrath above. Awesome damage and nice life bonus; however, no life steel , crushing blow, or AR. But when this is coupled with Treachery, I can hit the 5 frame breakpoint and still have the open socket to spare.

Other weapon options are The Battlebranch (ethereal), The Meat Scraper, Spire of Honor, and Soulfeast Tine War Fork.


I should also point out that my iron golem currently is using an ethereal 'malice' partizan, so regeneration is not an issue with the open wounds. Any thoughts?

Edit: I should also note that keeping my barbarian opens myself up to more magic find as I have an Immortal Kings Will with +86% MF. I also have a Tal's hat I can use for additional life steal as well.

HAHA I just realized that literally a half hour ago, before the start of this playing session, I cubed all my flawless emeralds and used them for crafting! For those of you that don't know, this is needed to upgrade an exceptional unique weapon to elite. Thankfully I have plenty of regular ones.
 
Last edited:
That is a tough decision bladejj. I'm not sure what I would do in your situation. Although since you are still progressing with nice speed, there is a third option of hoping for a Mal to drop and slapping Oath onto your barb merc. That being said, you can't really go very wrong here.

Whatever you choose, good luck!
 
So this was the end result of my decision. I switched back to my tried and tested (for all of normal and 3.5 acts of NM) blessed aim enhanced desert guard. Blessed aim ensured Emilio hits almost 100% of the time and with the new weapon damage our killing speed has increased exponentially.

When I encounter tough boss packs, I keep Tal's helm in the stash but I have yet to use it. The life steal from his new weapon, along with his high physical damage, keeps him alive in most situations. Nasty boss packs get Decrepified and / or Life Tapped and that usually does the trick. Killing speed has increased so dramatically I have cleared the Dark Wood to the Outer Cloister at Players 8. No items of note yet while playing at the higher players setting.

For boss kills, Emilio switches back to his magic find armor for the kill. While this is quite dangerous on my part (as the boss is typically the first to be attacked due to the rest of the pack being under the affect of Dim Vision which has timed out at unfortunate times and/or lured more monsters), I feel the additional MF pays off. Total MF on boss kills is a little over 300.

Current resistances are 60/-25/74/-20 with a life pool of around 1,250 (the pick below have my prebuff gear one). Keep in mind that half of my gear is still set up for MF. I was able to purchase a Jeweler's Gothic Plate of the Centaur (+50ish life) I can socket with Prubies if needed. Fire and lightning reists could easily be maxed if I switched out my MF ring.

View attachment 1384

Relic the Ironmancer with Emilio the Blessed Aim Desert Guard, Level 79, Hell Outer Cloister
 
Relic has been making blazing progress as of late. Relic and Emilio have cleared the remainder of Act 1 and have made cleared everything but half the Lost City, included the Ancient Tunnels. The Lost City had the natural cliff setup so it makes for an easy saving point.

I've keep it at players 7 except for the Maggot Lair, I cannot stand that place. I turned it down to players 5 to keep my sanity. I would estimate I used approximately 80 teleport charges there. I nearly had deeds when I teleported in bit closer to to a scarab boss pack (lightening enchanted, hold freeze, cold enchanted, extra strong) to get the mercancery into a better position. Well there was no ground available so it plopped me right into the middle of the mob! The holy freeze free slowed my casting abilities. All my red and 4 fat purples were needed to get me out of the situation. The one savings grace in the Lair was this new beauty:

Andariel's Visage
Demonhead
Defense: 319
Durability: 12 of 20
Required Strength: 102
Required Level: 83
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 87
Fingerprint: 0xa0f723e
+25 to Strength
+106% Enhanced Defense
Fire Resist -30%
Poison Resist +70%
+10% to Maximum Poison Resist
10% Life stolen per hit
20% Increased Attack Speed
+2 to All Skill Levels
15% Chance to cast Level 15 Poison Nova when struck
Level 3 Venom (5/20 Charges)

Now Emilio have 17% life leach with resistances at 75/75/75/85 (when fade triggers, which is all the time), which makes all but the toughest monsters get him into the red. In addition, he currently sits at 95% IAS, which equates to 5.5 frames per attack or 4.5 attacks per second. While 75% IAS is all that is needed to hit the 2nd highest breakpoint (the next highest is an unreasonable 145% IAS), the addition 20% help when he is chilled, slowed, or decrepified to keep his life saving attacks going at a decent speed.

The +25 strength also makes a huge difference in his physical damage (which is what life leach is based off of), to the tune of approximately 200 more damage. Pre venom damage is too the tune of approximately 400 - 2300 (off the top of my head, it may be a little off), all physical damage. Plus he is blessed aim so that means he hits effectively every swing.

There hasn't been too many pictures of note, but below are a few.

I went on a amulet gambling spree when my money was maxed out. Nothing yet can beat my +33 life, 21% resist all amulet.

View attachment 1388

Perhaps the worst rare I have ever seen. Definitely not worth upgrading to elite!

View attachment 1389

Andariel's drop, disappointing.

View attachment 1390

The Countess' lackluster drop.

View attachment 1391


Relic the Ironmancer with Emilio the Blessed Aim Desert Guard, Level 83.5, Hell Lost City
 
Claw Viper temple is cleared, bumped it up to players 8 this session to make it more difficult. All was smooth until level II. I was only hit on a claw viper charge one time during in the Claw Viper Temple in a mad teleporting scrambling. The initial area was clear but as I approached the opening, with the intention of teleporting in the middle and using the natural funnel on the south end, all heck broke loose when there were a few vipers atop the alter. They immediately started pouring in from either side.

I was able to Dim Vision the crowd, but for you those of you who don't have much experience with Dim Vision, the effects only work on future AI moments. Meaning, if they already saw you and had an attack scheduled, they will continue coming at you (for multiple screens, I tested this early on) until they are interrupting or put into hit recovery; then Dim Vision takes full affect.

When the crowd was all blinded both the mercenary and iron golem were surrounded and taking damage. Both can take intense beatings so I was fine...until one stray viper walked right past my tanks and changed me. I was able to Decrepify him so I was able to teleport away from his charge, but I wasn't waiting around for a second attempt. What happened next was a death wish waiting to happen.

I started teleporting like mad. I first teleported to the middle right corner and then down to the bottom corner. Shoot! Both are filled with Vipers and now I'm slowed due to Holy Freeze. I then made the now regretful decision to teleport onto the alter itself figuring my large life pool of 1,350 could take a hit....and that nearly cost me. I was hit with one charge removing my bone armor (affects physical damage only) and about a third of my life. I immediately remembered Jiansonz corner tactic I just recently read about. Well it was a some old tournament I was reading but it was still fresh in my head.

I teleported into the bottom left corner. Easy pezy from there. The high life pool, bone armor, and 65/60/75/75 resists all paid off.

View attachment 1405

Another use of pots I recently learned from reading Insane_Waynes adventures of his various naked HC characters.

View attachment 1406


Only one new find recently, a Scintillating (15 resist all) Ring of Fortune (18%) which was immediately put on. It took place of my +9 resist all / +29 life ring.

MF on merc kills is 184. On boss kills it jumps up to 280 (switch out his Treachery armor for a x4 perfect topaz) and in easy areas it increases to 340 (switch out Andariel's Visage for a x3 flawless topaz helm). While I'm not seeing as much gold and green as I was hoping for, I'm sure it will pay off soon.

Relic the Ironmancer with Emilio the Blessed Aim Desert Guard, Level 83.9, Hell Palace
 
So I have passed through the jungle and everything else in act 3. Uneventful and no nice finds.

I have reached the River of Flames wp and I was so hoping for an Amn by the Hellforge to give me the Edge RW. Instead I got an El. Hue disappointment! Let's hope the Man himself treats me better and gives me something great :)

LittleGirl, River of Flames lvl 33
 
Sorry for double post but I have to share my FRIGHT!

Yesterday all of a sudden the computer just blue screened and didn't restart! My first thought was to this char since I have come so far with him. I was just about to save the barbarians on the Frigid Highlands when it happened. Called in IT support (my husband...) and after some cleaning of the interior of the lap top it started again. Puh! Close call. Now I at least have a backup at this point.
 
Glad to hear that the crisis didn't wipe all that progress. :)
Sounds like there was a lot of dust and dirt in the cooling fans if you had to clean the interior. That nasty stuff can crash computers because of overheating. But at least now you have no reason to stop like me! :D
 
Yikes! Glad to hear LittleGirl lives on to fight another day! Congrats on besting Diablo too btw. This reminds me...

*runs to back up all D2 files*
 
Awesome find in the Spider Forest! Pretty interesting also because I was running through an area I already cleared and this was one basket I must an missed somehow. I am sure glad I took the extra second to kick it!

View attachment 1431

I'll give a full update later, but Relic the ironmancer, who has become specializing in clay and fire golem due to a lack a El runes (seriously!!) to make malice weapons, has complete at Act II. Full clears at Players 7 and still going strong.

That rune though opens up a lot of possibilities. I'll have to mule things over on how best to utilize it; but with how well things are going, I may not even end of using other than in a trophy case. Other runes in my stash are the follwing:

1 - Lo
1 - Ist
1 - Fal
4 - Ko
5 - Io

I already used my Pul and Lum on upgrading my mercencaries weapon, but I have enough lesser runes to probably cube up to a few more mid level runes, but not too much.

Relic the Ironmancer with Emilio the Blessed Aim Desert Guard, Level 86, Hell Spider Forest

Edit:

Just created this baby! Pure awesome. Emilio now does around 2.5k - 4.7k physical damage.

Fortitude
Great Hauberk
'ElSolDolLo'
Defense: 2814
Durability: 26 of 26
Required Strength: 108
Required Level: 59
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 79
Fingerprint: 0x65e4c9ea
+200% Enhanced Defense
+300% Enhanced Damage
+15 Defense
Damage Reduced by 7
Fire Resist +27%
Lightning Resist +27%
+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist
Cold Resist +27%
Poison Resist +27%
Replenish Life +7
+1 to Light Radius
25% Faster Cast Rate
12% Damage Taken Goes to Mana
20% Chance to cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when struck
+1 to Life (Based on Character Level)
Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (4: 4 used)

Also, it turns out the defense was higher than I was expecting. I used the cube recipe on an ethereal great hauberk (above) and the defense jumped from about 610 up to 903. Considering I have been playing at players 7, I should be able to jump up to players 8 and progress should be even quicker than it was beforehand.

I do loose +45% IAS from Treachery but it only equates to 0.5 frames per attack, or down from 4.5 to 4.1 attacks per second, negligible difference at best. Between Athena's Wrath and Andariel's Visage, I have 17% life steal so when combined with his extremely high physical damage, I shouldn't even need life tap even in the toughest situations to keep him alive.
 
Last edited:
Log in to Reply / Create Site Account
Remove Ads - Go PurePremium

Latest posts

Back
Top