The Shapeshifting MP Group

[ffs]

The damage range can make it frustrating to roll.

Soo....



Disgusting. Immediately Hel'ed that out, cause it can't get any worse...

...it can't, right?



Ouch. I had even cubed some Lems for the second roll, sorely lacking Pul/Um/Mal runes (cubed a lot of Ists for various MF chars recently).

Guess I need to squeeze in some rune farming apart from leveling the Zon.

 

[D2DC]

@D2DC please go with whatever Druid build you’d like. I’m going to run an Assassin after all.

Ok, I think I'll do a Fireclaw/Fury Earthshifter. It even has "shifter" in the name!

 

[PhineasB]

Awesome. I had thought about Earthshifter Druid also. Will be interested to see your experience with it, as it’s still on my to-do list (but fairly far down there, so may move it up depending)

 

[D2DC]

Will be interested to see your experience with it

Well, he dominated A1, as I expect he will until he runs into FIs.

Name           Character        Class        Build                     Current Level
____           _________        _____        _____                     _____________
D2DC           Kren-Douar       Druid        Earth Shifter             19 A2 Normal

 

[ffs]

Right back to it, very commendable @D2DC. Last year I even made two Earth Shifter Druids (first this guy and a second one with a slightly different approach). Enjoyed both of them a lot, looking forward to yours!

 

[maxicek]

Ah, the all important table.

Name           Character        Class        Build                     Current Level
____           _________        _____        _____                     _____________
D2DC           Kren-Douar       Druid        Earth Shifter             19 A2 Normal
maxicek        Isklor           Paladin      Polar Bear                56 A5 NM

The name means Ice Claws in Norwegian, at least according to Google Translate.

For those that didn't see it in the SPTF, @D2DC reminded me about 1.07 crafts and I managed to make this (stats now in 1.14d):

Carrion Scythe 
Phase Blade 
One Hand Damage: 129 - 158 
Indestructible 
Required Level: 76 
Required Strength: 25 
Required Dexterity: 136 
Fingerprint: 0x1d089666 
Item Level: 64 
Version: Expansion 
314% Enhanced Damage 
Adds 1 - 14 Damage 
Adds 1 - 8 Fire Damage 
4% Life stolen per hit 
+14 to Life
3 Sockets (0 used)

Socketed with 3xShael this gives me 4FPA, a bit more damage than Griswold's (Without socketing ED IAS Jewels) and a bit more leech. And zero repair stops.
I may still try the 6FPA Crescent Moon too though, it just means wearing Highlord's, Nos Coil & 20IAS gloves to get the 45IAS required.

 

[skiffcz]

Name           Character        Class        Build                     Current Level
____           _________        _____        _____                     _____________
D2DC           Kren-Douar       Druid        Earth Shifter             19 A2 Normal
maxicek        Isklor           Paladin      Polar Bear                56 A5 NM
skiffcz        Logan            Barb         3fpa Feral Wolf            1 A1 Normal

So Im done theorycrafting and I think he will work. Had to pump AR a bit but now Im pretty satisfied. Demon limb is demon limb. Current numbers are somewhere around 78 chance to hit /p8 death lord, while he has ~30 cth on me @lvl85. So, the question is what merc to take. I have a feeling that might/conviction is taken care of, so I lean towards WWS Rogue (had to ditch Atmas for Maras unfortunately) - it feels right to go with ranged merc with all those meatshields. Or reapers desert merc with aura that helps the most.

Also, I have an unique opportunity to make use of 6os Military Pick as an endgame equip. This chance shall not be forfeited!

 

[D2DC]

Right back to it, very commendable @D2DC. Last year I even made two Earth Shifter Druids (first this guy and a second one with a slightly different approach). Enjoyed both of them a lot, looking forward to yours!

Scouring the Pat/Mat compilation is the first thing I do when planning a new char.

 

[zemaj]

Not able to join the fun, but someone should definitely take this amazingly singular opportunity to play a Sick Puppy for A1, just to troll all the single-target-attack members of the group.

 

[maxicek]

Left click on ground, run around until you bump into a monster, press shift until they are dead. Release shift and run into next monster, etc.

 

[ffs]

@D2DC Ah wow, I'm ashamed to admit I'm not very tidy with my own Pat/Mat posts and threads in the compilation thread, never posted these Druids... admirable how diligently @Pb_pal is managing that thread!

Let's make it official:

Name           Character        Class        Build                     Current Level
____           _________        _____        _____                     _____________
D2DC           Kren-Douar       Druid        Earth Shifter             19  A2 Normal
maxicek        Isklor           Paladin      Polar Bear                56  A5 NM
skiffcz        Logan            Barb         3fpa Feral Wolf           1   A1 Normal
ffs            Furry            Zon          Fuzzy Dodger              1   A1 Normal

Just like @skiffcz, I've been theorycrafting and thinking about setups rather than actually playing. Nice job pushing quite far already @maxicek, and that PB sure looks like a great option.

Made a rough overview spreadsheet to check how various weapon choices compare in terms of DPS. Turns out 4 FPA Caddy isn't as far behind as I thought in terms of overall DPS, when accounting for all the min/max dmg from gear and charms, and using the extra flexibility to get some more off-weapon damage on remaining gear. Overall ~15% behind the highest DPS setup, but that's not too bad. In return it offers all that 4 FPA fun, plus lots of flexibility from other gear slots (e.g. Stormshield for more sturdiness if need be).

Currently leaning towards that, but I'm still torn... Some of the other options are looking strong, fun, or at the very least stylish. I'll roll more Oaths should I manage to farm a few Pul-Mal runes soon, but need a pretty high Oath roll in that Champion Sword to beat my current options. Worth noting that BotD CB with 7 FPA seems to be the highest DPS option for her, despite the slow attack rate. I only have BotD in BA and GPA, and not liking those too much for her. Ironically I can't roll more Oaths atm but could go for another BotD CB and it would come in handy for other builds as well... hmm

--

Anyway, first I need to finish the last Zod sept char and bring untwinked HC Barb to 97. Both won't take much longer though, couple of hours in-game maybe. Later this week once those are done, I'll get right to this one.

 

[maxicek]

Actually I cheated. I already had a character and have just pushed his level up as a Hammerdin. I'm going to respec for Hell.

 

[D2DC]

@maxicek has a bunch of unfinished characters parked in NM. This whole MP idea is just to get us to do some heavy lifting for him so he can rack up more Murios points.

j/k

 

[ffs]

Okay, pretty much done theorycrafting as well.

Spoiler

Rather than speed madness with 4 FPA, I'll go with a more well-rounded but boring Grief setup. Extra dmg from Oath/BotD 2-handers is just too small to pass up on all the things Grief offers. Top DPS, ITD, no off-weapon IAS needs, just so much flexibility on rest of the gear. In particular allows 50% PDR and 86 FHR with ease. Will use something like this:

• Grief PB
• Stormshield (ED/something jewel)
• CoA (2x ED/something jewels)
• Fortitude
• Metalgrid
• eth Treks
• Raven Froat
• rare or craft ring with leech/adds
• rare or craft belt with FHR/adds
• Gloves TBD. Maybe still LoH for demon ED, maybe something else (Bloodfist, blood craft, some rares...)

Inventory to get comfortable resists, rest dmg/AR.

Merc:

• Probably Pride. I don't want to rely on Reaper Merc to happen to be where we are. Plus 20% chance of uninterrupted attacks should come in handy for this char.
• CoH
• Vamp Gaze or Andy

Skill points:

• 20 CS, 20 Penetrate, 17-20 Valk, 20 Dodge
• Rest TBD, probably some Avoid/Evade/Decoy mix

So it looks like I'll be bringing Might & probably Concentration auras from Merc. Can provide another aura via Metalgrid IG.

Never used those IG charges though. How does it work, does the IG survive between games at least (if he stays alive), or does it poof? If he survives S&E, I'd take the risk of him dying and go with Exile IG. Defiance would be very useful for me, but should be nice for you guys too. If IG is only temporary and it's a guaranteed waste of runes, I'd just go with Insight I guess.

EDIT: Googling tells me it doesn't survive. :/ I guess Insight then, unless somebody has a better idea.

EDIT 2: Think I'll just pick up a Defiance Merc then, I assume Might will be represented several times.

I should be able to bring her to A1 Hell by the next weekend (6/7 Feb), if need be just a quick Java run. I'd be up for some action then. But no problem if you guys want to play a week later or so.

 

[maxicek]

Looks like you will be in the mid 80s when we start then
We did say Feb 6/7 starting but if you guys aren't ready I'm also happy to postpone for a week. We can decide next week.

 

[ffs]

Yeah, 82 for final gear. We'll go up to late 70s at NM Baal and maybe a few solo Hell P8 Pit runs... without getting any quests and WPs... running from town to the Pit... on second thought, I don't mind starting A1 Hell without CoA and Metalgrid.

 

[maxicek]

I have run The Cave in The Cold Plains for lvl82 before. I think the monster level works better IIRC.

 

[D2DC]

Think I'll just pick up a Defiance Merc then, I assume Might will be represented several times.

I'll go Might merc then, with 'Infinity'.

Came across this shrine. I can't remember ever seeing it before.. It was standing upright with both arms outstretched. When you activate the shrine, it folds its arms and drops it's head.


Edit:

Name           Character        Class        Build                     Current Level
____           _________        _____        _____                     _____________
maxicek        Isklor           Paladin      Polar Bear                56  A5 NM
D2DC           Kren-Douar       Druid        Earth Shifter             42  A1 NM
skiffcz        Logan            Barb         3fpa Feral Wolf           1   A1 Normal
ffs            Furry            Zon          Fuzzy Dodger              1   A1 Normal

 

[skiffcz]

I will make it to the 6/7 deadline ... At first I was gonna complain about the lvl79 req for the wolfhowl, but now I have no choice to just suck it and grind I guess. Or look like a pussy.

EDIT 2: Think I'll just pick up a Defiance Merc then, I assume Might will be represented several times.

Excellent.

 

[ffs]

Or look like a pussy.

Sometimes in life that's okay. Not in this case though.