The Three-Legged Race Tournament
- Thread starter Pb_pal
- Start date
Quick update.
Planned to clear everything up to and including the Pit tonight... but then ran into this near the end.
I've heard of great things with such Gem shrine and a Topaz drop from Andy; so off I went to the Catacombs...
The necromancer has not been so lucky in the S/U department: only an Arctic belt from somewhere in Jail, and the Umbral from Andy.
Arctic will soon be swapped out for a 3 or 4 row belt; and the Umbral will be stashed away for the other leg.
Also, the unplanned extended play lead to this by the end of the Act.
81 chippies in total, 13 of which are diamonds. the only 8 topazes found were used between me and the merc.
Hopefully the 13 rolls will be enough for a partizan.
Off to the desert!
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 28/12 Canyon of the Magi 14
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0Planned to clear everything up to and including the Pit tonight... but then ran into this near the end.
I've heard of great things with such Gem shrine and a Topaz drop from Andy; so off I went to the Catacombs...
Nope! Amethyst it is.
The necromancer has not been so lucky in the S/U department: only an Arctic belt from somewhere in Jail, and the Umbral from Andy.
Arctic will soon be swapped out for a 3 or 4 row belt; and the Umbral will be stashed away for the other leg.
Also, the unplanned extended play lead to this by the end of the Act.
81 chippies in total, 13 of which are diamonds. the only 8 topazes found were used between me and the merc.
Hopefully the 13 rolls will be enough for a partizan.
Off to the desert!
Last edited:
- Feb 24, 2006
- 1,057
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Belegant balliteration, Baltatai.
You asked earlier about my intended builds. For normal, I'm going for mind-blaster and werewolf. I'll see how I feel if they survive after that. And regarding their names, maybe you can help me workshop some truly awful puns with "bag lady," "hit the sack," "sackbut," etc.
Crudesash
Well-known member
- Feb 19, 2021
- 177
- 255
- 63
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 28/12 Canyon of the Magi 14
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 1/8 Cold Plains 2
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0Hephaestus was named after the legendary Greek god of fire and blacksmiths, and was going to be a mighty Hammerdin...until he realized that unless we were going to totally gimp his cousin Artemis, some training changes were in order. After some careful consideration, he will now be a boring old Fanatic Zealot...but the fanatic part must wait, as we went with Combat Skills first. A point into Smite to see how that felt...felt awkward; I loathe knockback! But it was not a wasted point since it is a pre-req for HS. Sacrifice is a great low level one pointer, and the life loss at low levels is negligible.
Played at /p5 to move it along a bit faster, and killed Blood Raven right after dinging 8, but before I turned in he quest for the merc. It was rough at first and I was surrounded by undead, but a few smites (OK, it has its uses) cleared a path to safety, and after a quick tp and back, I got her isolated, and it was over. No great drops yet but a +1 to Sacrifice Scepter was nice.
Work beckons but I hope to get to Cain tonight and maybe beyond.
b1ur
Active member
- Oct 16, 2018
- 126
- 173
- 43
Dunham the Auraless Zealot has reached Outer Cloister pretty much destroying everything along the way with his gambled Flail of Maiming. Nothing eventful except the fact the I got my 5th topaz in the Pits and not a single damage charm of any kind which is quite odd as I've found like 5 with my sorceress at this point without even doing full clears. That's by far the furthest I've gone with <5 chipped topazes.
Equipment is as straight forward as it gets. MF Armor 27%, Helm 18%, Gloves 20%, Boots 19%, Ring 10%, Ring 9% totaling a smudge over 100% MF which is nice.
Quantum the Elemental Druid will probably wait until I've finished Act II with Dunham.
Equipment is as straight forward as it gets. MF Armor 27%, Helm 18%, Gloves 20%, Boots 19%, Ring 10%, Ring 9% totaling a smudge over 100% MF which is nice.
Quantum the Elemental Druid will probably wait until I've finished Act II with Dunham.
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 28/12 Canyon of the Magi 14
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 17/1 Outer Cloister 4
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 1/8 Cold Plains 2
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0- Feb 24, 2006
- 1,057
- 1,972
- 113
Both BurlapBag and GunnySack have rescued Cain and collected their Countess runes - an Eth and a Tal. I guess I should make a Stealth armor and decide which one gets to wear it.
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 28/12 Canyon of the Magi 14
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 16/16 Black Marsh 8
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 17/1 Outer Cloister 4
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 1/8 Cold Plains 2
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0No update this time; but I wanted to show this off.
Now where to spend the rest of the money...
Now where to spend the rest of the money...
Just a thought: since we have a column for single pass or not, wouldn't it be of equal interest to add a corresponding one for RWM and one for extended stash? Both affect the difficulty a good deal like single pass does and I read that there were style points to be earned.
Good luck everybody, too.
.Good luck everybody, too.
snickersnack
Well-known member
- Dec 23, 2007
- 7,508
- 1,448
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Just spitballing here, but I'm thinking of going with a necro named Sinister and a barb named Dexter. The necro would be a summoner getting Summons to start and Curses next. The barb would be a singer getting Warcries first and Masteries second.
I may go with sin (probably traps, but maybe kicks) instead of necro though, as it fits the name really well.
I may go with sin (probably traps, but maybe kicks) instead of necro though, as it fits the name really well.
OldSoldier
Active member
- Aug 19, 2020
- 63
- 181
- 33
b1ur
Active member
- Oct 16, 2018
- 126
- 173
- 43
Small update as I've finished Act I
Andy drop was impressive although not that useful. I'm using the Umbral Disk but it probably won't be for long as decent Pally shields start dropping.
Throughout the whole of Act I I found a grand total of 8 chipped topazes which is a tad bid annoying. A total of 7 S/U: Arctic Fur, Cleglaw's Claw x2, Crushflange, Stoutnail x2, Umbral Disk.
I got a desert mercenary, gambled him a Pike (and an upgrade for my Flail - some ED, and Amp damage proc) and saved the rest for a Circlet spree at clvl22.
Hope my topaz luck improves
Andy drop was impressive although not that useful. I'm using the Umbral Disk but it probably won't be for long as decent Pally shields start dropping.
Throughout the whole of Act I I found a grand total of 8 chipped topazes which is a tad bid annoying. A total of 7 S/U: Arctic Fur, Cleglaw's Claw x2, Crushflange, Stoutnail x2, Umbral Disk.
I got a desert mercenary, gambled him a Pike (and an upgrade for my Flail - some ED, and Amp damage proc) and saved the rest for a Circlet spree at clvl22.
Hope my topaz luck improves
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 28/12 Canyon of the Magi 14
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 16/16 Black Marsh 8
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 20/1 Lut Gholein 6
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 1/8 Cold Plains 2
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0Crudesash
Well-known member
- Feb 19, 2021
- 177
- 255
- 63
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 28/12 Canyon of the Magi 14
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 16/16 Black Marsh 8
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 20/1 Lut Gholein 6
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 5/15 Outer Cloister 5
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0Heph powered through to rescue Cain, and then took down the Countess and reached the Monastery before calling it a night. Along the way, he found 2 super chests (1st ones I've seen since I restarted), and, always an augur of good things to come, found my namesake
I decided to get the Amazon started as well, and she cleared the Den before I called it for the night. Decided to go with Jav tree first, so after I clear normal on both, I'll need to decide which will have the better chance of clearing NM with a single tree, gear might play a role obviously. And, since she did not want to be left out of the fun...
- Jan 24, 2008
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My Assassin has deposed Andariel and assumed her throne:
Things were super smooth except for the part were I deleted my character at the Jail Level 2 / clvl 18. No not on accident ... it was deliberate. I had been building her as though I was going to max out Lightning Sentry and had been putting points in Shock Web and Charged Bolt Sentry ... not a bad plan ... and probably 'right' if making a twinked or at least non-tournament character ... but perhaps not the right plan for this character. Lightning Sentry has more (lightning) damage than Death Sentry but needs 81 points in the Traps tree to max out damage ... more if you want additional shots. I decided that's just too many points for a single pass character that would probably finish Hell in the mid clvl 80's. So, I deleted her and restarted another Assassin with the plan to max Death Sentry and its two synergies. That's 62 points in the Traps tree which should leave enough points to do some good in the Shadow Tree when I unlock it after Nightmare.
So I pretty much got to play through Act 1 as both a Charged Bolt Sentry Assassin and a Fire Blast Assassin. Before doing it I couldn't have told you which one would have been better ... but now I'm sure. The second play through (Fire Blast) has way better. Even at skill level 20, Fire Blast still only costs 5.3 mana ... Charged Bolt Sentry costs 13 mana and you really want to drop three of them so that's really 5.2 mana for Fire Blast vs 39 mana for Charged Bolt Sentry. Then, take into account that you the player gets to aim Fire Blast whereas Charged Bolt Sentry doesn't always end up shooting where you want ... so in my mind, there's no contest between the two. How long will Fire Blast remain effective? I don't know, but I get to start putting points in Lightning Sentry at clvl 24 so I'm not worried. Besides, I've now got my trusty Desert Merc who can more than take care of himself.
What else, ... finds! Except there weren't any interesting finds. Here's the set/uniques that dropped:
Pelta Lunata, Buckler (Crypt)
Umbral Disk, Small Shield (Jail Level 2)
Crushflange, Mace (Catacombs Level 3)
Hsarus' Iron Heel, Chain Boots (Andariel)
I thought the Crushing Blow on the Crushflange might be good against Andariel but it turned out a level 19 Fire Blast was much more effective ...
Next up: Taking on Act II feeling confident that my Assassin's on the right build path.
Things were super smooth except for the part were I deleted my character at the Jail Level 2 / clvl 18. No not on accident ... it was deliberate. I had been building her as though I was going to max out Lightning Sentry and had been putting points in Shock Web and Charged Bolt Sentry ... not a bad plan ... and probably 'right' if making a twinked or at least non-tournament character ... but perhaps not the right plan for this character. Lightning Sentry has more (lightning) damage than Death Sentry but needs 81 points in the Traps tree to max out damage ... more if you want additional shots. I decided that's just too many points for a single pass character that would probably finish Hell in the mid clvl 80's. So, I deleted her and restarted another Assassin with the plan to max Death Sentry and its two synergies. That's 62 points in the Traps tree which should leave enough points to do some good in the Shadow Tree when I unlock it after Nightmare.
So I pretty much got to play through Act 1 as both a Charged Bolt Sentry Assassin and a Fire Blast Assassin. Before doing it I couldn't have told you which one would have been better ... but now I'm sure. The second play through (Fire Blast) has way better. Even at skill level 20, Fire Blast still only costs 5.3 mana ... Charged Bolt Sentry costs 13 mana and you really want to drop three of them so that's really 5.2 mana for Fire Blast vs 39 mana for Charged Bolt Sentry. Then, take into account that you the player gets to aim Fire Blast whereas Charged Bolt Sentry doesn't always end up shooting where you want ... so in my mind, there's no contest between the two. How long will Fire Blast remain effective? I don't know, but I get to start putting points in Lightning Sentry at clvl 24 so I'm not worried. Besides, I've now got my trusty Desert Merc who can more than take care of himself.
What else, ... finds! Except there weren't any interesting finds. Here's the set/uniques that dropped:
Pelta Lunata, Buckler (Crypt)
Umbral Disk, Small Shield (Jail Level 2)
Crushflange, Mace (Catacombs Level 3)
Hsarus' Iron Heel, Chain Boots (Andariel)
I thought the Crushing Blow on the Crushflange might be good against Andariel but it turned out a level 19 Fire Blast was much more effective ...
Next up: Taking on Act II feeling confident that my Assassin's on the right build path.
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 28/20 Kurast Docks 18
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 16/16 Black Marsh 8
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 20/1 Lut Gholein 6
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 5/15 Outer Cloister 5
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Last edited:
- Feb 23, 2006
- 3,148
- 852
- 113
Crudesash
Well-known member
- Feb 19, 2021
- 177
- 255
- 63
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 28/20 Kurast Docks 18
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 16/16 Black Marsh 8
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 5/19 Lut Gholein 7
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 20/1 Lut Gholein 6
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0Heph took down Andariel in a toe to toe, mano y mano, mano, mano, mano fight and emerged victorious...
As per usual, great drops are not in the cards for me; my only S/U was Hsarus Iron Fist, which dropped in the Catacombs Level 3, and was not an upgrade. Also only one rune, a Tir bestowed by the Countess. Mostly Full clears (P5) and no planned reruns. Much of my killing speed was derived from the flail I gambled at lvl 15 (shout out to @b1ur for that insight).
On to the desert, where the hunt for the cube begins. Then maybe I'll get around to whatever is happening in the Sewers.
- Jan 24, 2008
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Duriel is dead ... again.
And to think, only four more times left to go ...
Act II was a blast, a Fire Blast! That's right, move over Emilio, I'll be doing the majority of damage this time around. I wasn't sure how well a level 20 Fire Blast would hold up as I moved past Act I but it turned out to be more than sufficient for a full clear at players 7. I of course unlocked Lightning Sentry at clvl 24 but didn't use it all. Level 20 Fire Blast has a mana cost of 5.3. Lightning Sentry has a mana cost of 20 ... per trap. My Assassin only has 60 mana ... you see the problem. The good news is that points in Lightning Sentry boosts the damage of Fire Blast so I was still gaining damage as the Act progressed. It'll be interesting to see when Lightning or Death Sentry becomes more viable than Fire Blast. For that to happen, I'll certainly need a larger, more sustainable, mana pool ... my guess is Act V ... maybe even Act I NM? ... idk ... we'll find out ...
What I do know; what dropped. Here's my Assassin's set/unique finds for Act II:
First and best.
Nagelring
Ring
Required Level: 7
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0xc98975db
+52 to Attack Rating
Magic Damage Reduced by 3
Attacker Takes Damage of 3
28% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items <-- Nice! This went right onto her finger.
Then there were no set/uniques for a very long time making me wonder if that ring was defective ... but then I got a few at the end:
Civerb's Ward, Large Shield (Tal Rasha's False Tomb) <-- My third of the tournament
Deathspade, Axe (Tal Rasha's True Tomb)
Berserker's Hatchet, Double Axe (Tal Rasha's True Tomb)
Civerb's Icon, Amulet (Tal Rasha's True Tomb) <-- My second of the tournament
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Duriel)
I was hoping the green amulet and ring would be Angelic ... alas ... 0/2 ...
Up next: Act III, and back to my Frozen Orb Sorceress that only has the Lightning tree unlocked ...
And to think, only four more times left to go ...
Act II was a blast, a Fire Blast! That's right, move over Emilio, I'll be doing the majority of damage this time around. I wasn't sure how well a level 20 Fire Blast would hold up as I moved past Act I but it turned out to be more than sufficient for a full clear at players 7. I of course unlocked Lightning Sentry at clvl 24 but didn't use it all. Level 20 Fire Blast has a mana cost of 5.3. Lightning Sentry has a mana cost of 20 ... per trap. My Assassin only has 60 mana ... you see the problem. The good news is that points in Lightning Sentry boosts the damage of Fire Blast so I was still gaining damage as the Act progressed. It'll be interesting to see when Lightning or Death Sentry becomes more viable than Fire Blast. For that to happen, I'll certainly need a larger, more sustainable, mana pool ... my guess is Act V ... maybe even Act I NM? ... idk ... we'll find out ...
What I do know; what dropped. Here's my Assassin's set/unique finds for Act II:
First and best.
Nagelring
Ring
Required Level: 7
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0xc98975db
+52 to Attack Rating
Magic Damage Reduced by 3
Attacker Takes Damage of 3
28% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items <-- Nice! This went right onto her finger.
Then there were no set/uniques for a very long time making me wonder if that ring was defective ... but then I got a few at the end:
Civerb's Ward, Large Shield (Tal Rasha's False Tomb) <-- My third of the tournament
Deathspade, Axe (Tal Rasha's True Tomb)
Berserker's Hatchet, Double Axe (Tal Rasha's True Tomb)
Civerb's Icon, Amulet (Tal Rasha's True Tomb) <-- My second of the tournament
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Duriel)
I was hoping the green amulet and ring would be Angelic ... alas ... 0/2 ...
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 28/28 Kurast Docks 24
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 16/16 Black Marsh 8
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 5/19 Lut Gholein 7
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 20/1 Lut Gholein 6
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0Up next: Act III, and back to my Frozen Orb Sorceress that only has the Lightning tree unlocked ...
- Jan 24, 2008
- 785
- 1,194
- 93
Hmm, double post? ... Don't mind if I do.
(I'm starting to think I might have more free time than other people ... )
Anyhow,
Mephisto is dead! Diablo is dead! Andariel, Duriel, all my foes are dead! ... wait, what's that ... this is an expansion character? ... another whole act you say ... hmm, hold that thought ...
Act III was cleared at players 7. I was worried that after playing my star-of-the-show Assassin it was going to be hard to go back to playing my merc's-merc Sorceress but that fear was unfounded. With a level 10 Static Field and the ability to steer the flow of battle with teleport things moved along at a lively pace. I hit clvl 30 in the Swampy Pit:
Which would normally be a great source of celebration for a Frozen Orb Sorceress ... but this one's going to have to wait a little bit longer. Still, I wasn't to sad about having to defer gratification. Static Field, plus Teleport, plus a big hurty stick makes for pretty good forward progress and before I knew it, Mephisto had been reached and was reduced to splat on floor:
Act III set/unique finds were:
Serpent Lord, Long Staff (Spider Forest)
Twitchthroe, Studded Leather (Arachnid Lair)
Sander's Taboo, Heavy Gloves (Great Marsh)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Great Marsh)
Hsarus' Iron Stay, Belt (Ruined Temple)
Razortine, Trident (Ruined Temple)
Sander's Superstition, Bone Wand (Kurast Bazaar)
Raven Claw, Long Bow (Upper Kurast)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Upper Kurast)
Sigon's Wrap, Plated Belt (Disused Reliquary)
Cleglaw's Tooth, Long Sword (Travincal)
Civerb's Ward, Large Shield (Mephisto)
Iratha's Cuff, Light Gauntlets (Mephisto)
But why stop there? After all, Act IV is very short.
So I kept going and cleared Act IV also at players 7. Things started off well but by the River of Flame my merc's savage poleaxe was starting to feel a bit under powered. So I took the amethyst from the Hellforge:
Plus two other amethysts, and stuffed them into a three socketed breast plate so that my merc could use:
Savage Partizan
Two-Hand Damage: 61 to 135
Durability: 49 of 65
Required Dexterity: 67
Required Strength: 113
Required Level: 23
Polearm Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0x2bd0578b
+80% Enhanced Damage
One of my two perfect roll savage partizans. This just about doubled my merc's damage but came at the cost of losing his only source of life leech (his savage poleaxe had 6% life leech) and also his mf armor. The lost life leech was noticeable but didn't cause more problems than the increased damage solved. The loss of mf was not noticeable. I found two items that could see endgame use in the Chaos Sanctuary:
Resistances, mana, a little damage reduction, 50% damage taken goes to mana ... what's not to like? ... you know, assuming you up it ...
And then after putting up a better than expected fight (considering I had Static Field, Teleport, 75 LR, and 90 FR on my side), Diablo dropped a most interesting item:
Skin of the Vipermagi
Serpentskin Armor
Defense: 279
Durability: 17 of 24
Required Strength: 43
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0x1b56e4f3
+120% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 10
All Resistances +25
30% Faster Cast Rate
+1 to All Skill Levels
I can't recall ever having one drop so early. In fact, if asked, I'd have said it wasn't possible ... Surprise! I'm going to stick with my topaz mf armor for the time being. But come Hell, I'd say there's a good chance I'll be digging this out of my stash.
The complete list of Act IV set/unique finds is:
Angelic Halo, Ring (Outer Steppes) <-- Hey! Not a Cathan's!
Vidala's Barb, Long Battle Bow (Outer Steppes)
Nightsmoke, Belt (The Chaos Sanctuary)
Cleglaw's Pincers, Chain Gloves (Diablo)
Skin of the Vipermagi, Serpentskin Armor (Diablo)
Next up: Act III where we'll find out if my Fire Blast Assassin still plays like she's the star-of-the-show or if I'll be forced to find a way to make the more mana hungry trap skills a bit more workable.
(I'm starting to think I might have more free time than other people ... )
Anyhow,
Mephisto is dead! Diablo is dead! Andariel, Duriel, all my foes are dead! ... wait, what's that ... this is an expansion character? ... another whole act you say ... hmm, hold that thought ...
Act III was cleared at players 7. I was worried that after playing my star-of-the-show Assassin it was going to be hard to go back to playing my merc's-merc Sorceress but that fear was unfounded. With a level 10 Static Field and the ability to steer the flow of battle with teleport things moved along at a lively pace. I hit clvl 30 in the Swampy Pit:
Which would normally be a great source of celebration for a Frozen Orb Sorceress ... but this one's going to have to wait a little bit longer. Still, I wasn't to sad about having to defer gratification. Static Field, plus Teleport, plus a big hurty stick makes for pretty good forward progress and before I knew it, Mephisto had been reached and was reduced to splat on floor:
Act III set/unique finds were:
Serpent Lord, Long Staff (Spider Forest)
Twitchthroe, Studded Leather (Arachnid Lair)
Sander's Taboo, Heavy Gloves (Great Marsh)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Great Marsh)
Hsarus' Iron Stay, Belt (Ruined Temple)
Razortine, Trident (Ruined Temple)
Sander's Superstition, Bone Wand (Kurast Bazaar)
Raven Claw, Long Bow (Upper Kurast)
Cathan's Seal, Ring (Upper Kurast)
Sigon's Wrap, Plated Belt (Disused Reliquary)
Cleglaw's Tooth, Long Sword (Travincal)
Civerb's Ward, Large Shield (Mephisto)
Iratha's Cuff, Light Gauntlets (Mephisto)
But why stop there? After all, Act IV is very short.
So I kept going and cleared Act IV also at players 7. Things started off well but by the River of Flame my merc's savage poleaxe was starting to feel a bit under powered. So I took the amethyst from the Hellforge:
Plus two other amethysts, and stuffed them into a three socketed breast plate so that my merc could use:
Savage Partizan
Two-Hand Damage: 61 to 135
Durability: 49 of 65
Required Dexterity: 67
Required Strength: 113
Required Level: 23
Polearm Class - Slow Attack Speed
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 50
Fingerprint: 0x2bd0578b
+80% Enhanced Damage
One of my two perfect roll savage partizans. This just about doubled my merc's damage but came at the cost of losing his only source of life leech (his savage poleaxe had 6% life leech) and also his mf armor. The lost life leech was noticeable but didn't cause more problems than the increased damage solved. The loss of mf was not noticeable. I found two items that could see endgame use in the Chaos Sanctuary:
Resistances, mana, a little damage reduction, 50% damage taken goes to mana ... what's not to like? ... you know, assuming you up it ...
And then after putting up a better than expected fight (considering I had Static Field, Teleport, 75 LR, and 90 FR on my side), Diablo dropped a most interesting item:
Skin of the Vipermagi
Serpentskin Armor
Defense: 279
Durability: 17 of 24
Required Strength: 43
Required Level: 29
Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion
Item Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0x1b56e4f3
+120% Enhanced Defense
Magic Damage Reduced by 10
All Resistances +25
30% Faster Cast Rate
+1 to All Skill Levels
I can't recall ever having one drop so early. In fact, if asked, I'd have said it wasn't possible ... Surprise! I'm going to stick with my topaz mf armor for the time being. But come Hell, I'd say there's a good chance I'll be digging this out of my stash.
The complete list of Act IV set/unique finds is:
Angelic Halo, Ring (Outer Steppes) <-- Hey! Not a Cathan's!
Vidala's Barb, Long Battle Bow (Outer Steppes)
Nightsmoke, Belt (The Chaos Sanctuary)
Cleglaw's Pincers, Chain Gloves (Diablo)
Skin of the Vipermagi, Serpentskin Armor (Diablo)
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 35/28 River of Flame 33
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 16/16 Black Marsh 8
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 5/19 Lut Gholein 7
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 20/1 Lut Gholein 6
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0Next up: Act III where we'll find out if my Fire Blast Assassin still plays like she's the star-of-the-show or if I'll be forced to find a way to make the more mana hungry trap skills a bit more workable.
CaseyJones
Well-known member
- Apr 2, 2019
- 209
- 297
- 63
Since I have a couple minutes, a text only update from my phone. I was not able to wait until I completed the Orange tournament before jumping into this one, alas!
I was reminded in the Orange tourney how little I like single pass playthrough. It usually just seems to end up as a slog for me. So I decided I would give up style points all around and play this tournament as softcore and reruns at various player settings.
First up was Anisor, a lightning sorc. With the style points given up already, how could I make this run a bit different? I have decided she will wield staves only and remain single tree lightning.
She started typical early life running through the bloodmoor at players8 thwacking the encroaching demon and undead invaders. Reaching level 6 just inside the den of evil. After clearing the den she followed the road right to Blood Raven, now sporting a more than adequate amount of charged bolts. Did not bother with the crypt areas but headed straight away to rescue cain. Dropped to players1 until Cain was secured, then attacked Treewood, Rakinishu, and the Tristram crew to level 15. With a few chipped topazes and some gambled boots was sitting around 50mf. She found a rare hunters bow with CtC amp, and a pelt with +2 spirit wolves, +1 raven. A great piece for my paired hunter druid. She stopped to rest a bit.
Anidru, the bow wielding summon druid used her break to catch up and then some. He too is destined for a single tree only. Similar start, players8 blood more thudding baddies with his club until he could wield the hunter bow. Upon reaching level 6, spent a point in spirit wolves and donned the pelt for an instant 3 wolf army. This worked great and he was clearing the den in little time. Took a bit longer to find blood raven as the chosen turn at the fork in the road led to Stony Field and he had to backtrack a bit.
With his new found rogue companion, a poison vine, two ravens and five wolves, as well as a spirit, they made quite the parade as they advanced to rescue cain. Aside from forgotten tower level 5, this troop continued at players8 clear to the demon boss herself.
With Andariel slain, they traveled with Warriv into the desert where they avenged a young boy. Took on the employ of a town guard (our rogue friend found love in the arms of a merchant prince it would seem), located a mysterious cube and the staff of a once prominent order. Anidru is sitting at a comfortable level 23. Progress has been fairly smooth with a slowdown in the maggot lair of course. He has a 3 socket composite bow waiting for the levels and runes for Edge and is sporting a flawed topaz, 4 chipped topaz, and some mf boots,gloves,and rings for some 90ish total mf. Found a pluckeye but the stats are lacking so he has continued to use the amp hunters bow. Also, his army has replaced spirit wolves with their larger dire cousins.
I will update the table and provide some additional screenshots and data soon.
Anisor/Anidru - sorc/druid - 15/23 - A1 Norm/A2 Norm
I was reminded in the Orange tourney how little I like single pass playthrough. It usually just seems to end up as a slog for me. So I decided I would give up style points all around and play this tournament as softcore and reruns at various player settings.
First up was Anisor, a lightning sorc. With the style points given up already, how could I make this run a bit different? I have decided she will wield staves only and remain single tree lightning.
She started typical early life running through the bloodmoor at players8 thwacking the encroaching demon and undead invaders. Reaching level 6 just inside the den of evil. After clearing the den she followed the road right to Blood Raven, now sporting a more than adequate amount of charged bolts. Did not bother with the crypt areas but headed straight away to rescue cain. Dropped to players1 until Cain was secured, then attacked Treewood, Rakinishu, and the Tristram crew to level 15. With a few chipped topazes and some gambled boots was sitting around 50mf. She found a rare hunters bow with CtC amp, and a pelt with +2 spirit wolves, +1 raven. A great piece for my paired hunter druid. She stopped to rest a bit.
Anidru, the bow wielding summon druid used her break to catch up and then some. He too is destined for a single tree only. Similar start, players8 blood more thudding baddies with his club until he could wield the hunter bow. Upon reaching level 6, spent a point in spirit wolves and donned the pelt for an instant 3 wolf army. This worked great and he was clearing the den in little time. Took a bit longer to find blood raven as the chosen turn at the fork in the road led to Stony Field and he had to backtrack a bit.
With his new found rogue companion, a poison vine, two ravens and five wolves, as well as a spirit, they made quite the parade as they advanced to rescue cain. Aside from forgotten tower level 5, this troop continued at players8 clear to the demon boss herself.
With Andariel slain, they traveled with Warriv into the desert where they avenged a young boy. Took on the employ of a town guard (our rogue friend found love in the arms of a merchant prince it would seem), located a mysterious cube and the staff of a once prominent order. Anidru is sitting at a comfortable level 23. Progress has been fairly smooth with a slowdown in the maggot lair of course. He has a 3 socket composite bow waiting for the levels and runes for Edge and is sporting a flawed topaz, 4 chipped topaz, and some mf boots,gloves,and rings for some 90ish total mf. Found a pluckeye but the stats are lacking so he has continued to use the amp hunters bow. Also, his army has replaced spirit wolves with their larger dire cousins.
I will update the table and provide some additional screenshots and data soon.
Anisor/Anidru - sorc/druid - 15/23 - A1 Norm/A2 Norm
- Mar 19, 2020
- 3,349
- 1,404
- 113
Fantastic progress all, some really good drops coming thorugh too which is always nice to see! As for me, I've finally made some progress!
--
Presenting Team Pb! Welcome to the fray Rindo the Lightning Strike zon and Pao the Firewaller. As for extra trees, the zon will unlock P+M at some point, and I haven't yet decided on the second tree for the sorc. I'll wait and see how drops and play progresses first.
--
First officially out into the Moor is Rindo the future Lightning Strike Zon, and I'm going to use Power Strike as her boss-killer instead of CS for a change of pace, and because I like to try and avoid cookie-cutter type skills in tournaments. She has chosen to unlock the Jav/Spear tree for starters to help with early game progression.
Already in the Moor she got an XP shrine and her first topaz, so things are already looking up! Through the Den, grabbed a fire rogue on her way through the plains and the girls took out Blood Raven, then proceeded up (finding two more chipped topazes along the way) to kill Treehead and save Cain.
Power Strike is easily carrying us right now, even with just a couple points, so it was an easy cruise to the Countess.
Tal/Ral, nice! I was hoping for a Ral so that I could make a Leaf staff for Pao to use once she starts, so now I just need a Tir to complete that. Onwards, she threw down the Smith and made her way through the rest of the act to Andariel who left a very colourful drop
The belt will go to use right away, and the javelins are also an improvement. She decided to keep her momentum and head straight out into A2 at level 19. So she grabbed a desert merc and headed straight for the cube, meeting a familiar face along the way.
She grabbed the cube, made a polearm for the merc (he needs a couple levels still) and headed back out. First stop, Radament. Through the deserts and into the CVT she made one great find.
Nice!
About as good as it gets for this stage, so I'm pumped about that. Quickly through to Fangskin and the rest of the act followed without incident. Now she'll wait for her sister to catch up, and maybe do some shopping in the meantime.
Team Pb - 12 Points
Rindo the Amazon (Jav), level 25; Hangin' with Meshif - 12Points
Pao the Sorceress (Fire), level 1; Rogue Encampment - 0 Points
--
--
Presenting Team Pb! Welcome to the fray Rindo the Lightning Strike zon and Pao the Firewaller. As for extra trees, the zon will unlock P+M at some point, and I haven't yet decided on the second tree for the sorc. I'll wait and see how drops and play progresses first.
--
First officially out into the Moor is Rindo the future Lightning Strike Zon, and I'm going to use Power Strike as her boss-killer instead of CS for a change of pace, and because I like to try and avoid cookie-cutter type skills in tournaments. She has chosen to unlock the Jav/Spear tree for starters to help with early game progression.
Already in the Moor she got an XP shrine and her first topaz, so things are already looking up! Through the Den, grabbed a fire rogue on her way through the plains and the girls took out Blood Raven, then proceeded up (finding two more chipped topazes along the way) to kill Treehead and save Cain.
Power Strike is easily carrying us right now, even with just a couple points, so it was an easy cruise to the Countess.
Tal/Ral, nice! I was hoping for a Ral so that I could make a Leaf staff for Pao to use once she starts, so now I just need a Tir to complete that. Onwards, she threw down the Smith and made her way through the rest of the act to Andariel who left a very colourful drop
The belt will go to use right away, and the javelins are also an improvement. She decided to keep her momentum and head straight out into A2 at level 19. So she grabbed a desert merc and headed straight for the cube, meeting a familiar face along the way.
She grabbed the cube, made a polearm for the merc (he needs a couple levels still) and headed back out. First stop, Radament. Through the deserts and into the CVT she made one great find.
Nice!
About as good as it gets for this stage, so I'm pumped about that. Quickly through to Fangskin and the rest of the act followed without incident. Now she'll wait for her sister to catch up, and maybe do some shopping in the meantime.
Team Pb - 12 Points
Rindo the Amazon (Jav), level 25; Hangin' with Meshif - 12Points
Pao the Sorceress (Fire), level 1; Rogue Encampment - 0 Points
--
Code:
SP Forum Name Characters Level Furthest WP Points
-- ----------------- ---------------- ------ ---------------------- -------
Y Hanshotfirst Sorc/Sin 35/28 River of Flame 33
Y Pb_pal Sorc/Zon 1/25 Canyon of the Magi 12
N Swamigoon Sin/Druid 16/16 Black Marsh 8
N Crudesash68 Zon/Paladin 5/19 Lut Gholein 7
Y Gynli Zon/Necro 1/20 Lut Gholein 6
Y b1ur Paladin/Druid 20/1 Lut Gholein 6
Y Maltatai Druid/Druid 15/7 Dark Wood 4
Y Vildecor Zon/Sorc 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N PhineasB Necro/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
N CaseyJones Sorc/Druid 1/1 Rogue Encampment 0
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