AlexTheNextOne
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The Untwinked Level 99 Progress Thread, Revenge of the 99ers
- Thread starter Kitteh1
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Neksja
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Fun is a very subjective concept. To me, Fury Druid is very much fun. And I've built quite few, from standard Fury Druid to hybrid Fury/Rabies, Fury/Fire Claws through to Titan Earth Shifter and I even brought a Fury druid at lvl49 to Hell Ancients only to learn that you need to be at least lvl60 (I think?) to fight them, preventing me to finish Hell at character lvl49
So when I say Fury Druid is fun, consider it a biased opinion.But when you think about it, is there anything better than taking a massive slapstick like Tomb Reaver, transform yourself to a puppy and smack everyone up? I don't think so.
T72on1
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@Neksja Nice write-up. You still didn't find that Arcanna's amulet? Amazing. Just stop looking for it, then it will drop.
I find your rune haul very impressive. Much more so than Neverland's, if I only take the runs she did to get to 99, so not those Travincal runs I did for the MFO and stuff like that. It only confirms what was already known I think, at least what I recall from reading other Hammerdin write-ups: due to their area damage, they are excellent rune farmers.
I can't wait to get to CS with my 99er Hammerdin. Unfortunately that is still a long way off, since focus is on the MF/RF tournament now, then vacation with the familiy, then MFO and always-very-busy-period that is end of the summer vacation and start of school / hobbies / ... After that I'll have to decided if I continue Neverland, take ShouldBeEasy to LK for that last Sur, or split time between both.
So it will actually take quite a while before I finish Neverland's trip. Btw, I don't see myself as your competitor ... merely a mutual excuse to take on and finish this journey.
@AlexTheNextOne As Neksja said, it's obviously very personal what you like and what you don't. In my opinion Fury Druids, and shafeshifter Druids in general, are very, very fun. For my Grief Sept I did a Fury/Rabies hybrid with Grief as weapon (obviously), so no different switch for Fury and Rabies. He hit like a truck, was very sturdy and ... well you just have to try Rabies out. It's an incredibly satisfying skill, the way the disease spreads among tied packed enemies. I'm doing a Furywolf now in the untwinked HC group game I'm running at the AB, and even untwinked it's tons of fun.
So long story short ... start a Shapeshifter, now !!!
I find your rune haul very impressive. Much more so than Neverland's, if I only take the runs she did to get to 99, so not those Travincal runs I did for the MFO and stuff like that. It only confirms what was already known I think, at least what I recall from reading other Hammerdin write-ups: due to their area damage, they are excellent rune farmers.
I can't wait to get to CS with my 99er Hammerdin. Unfortunately that is still a long way off, since focus is on the MF/RF tournament now, then vacation with the familiy, then MFO and always-very-busy-period that is end of the summer vacation and start of school / hobbies / ... After that I'll have to decided if I continue Neverland, take ShouldBeEasy to LK for that last Sur, or split time between both.
So it will actually take quite a while before I finish Neverland's trip. Btw, I don't see myself as your competitor ... merely a mutual excuse to take on and finish this journey
.@AlexTheNextOne As Neksja said, it's obviously very personal what you like and what you don't. In my opinion Fury Druids, and shafeshifter Druids in general, are very, very fun. For my Grief Sept I did a Fury/Rabies hybrid with Grief as weapon (obviously), so no different switch for Fury and Rabies. He hit like a truck, was very sturdy and ... well you just have to try Rabies out. It's an incredibly satisfying skill, the way the disease spreads among tied packed enemies. I'm doing a Furywolf now in the untwinked HC group game I'm running at the AB, and even untwinked it's tons of fun.
So long story short ... start a Shapeshifter, now !!!
AlexTheNextOne
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- Aug 31, 2013
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I think I was initially put off by the Druid’s underwhelming elemental spells before synergies came along, and didn’t really keep exploring the class.
Fun is a very subjective concept. To me, Fury Druid is very much fun. And I've built quite few, from standard Fury Druid to hybrid Fury/Rabies, Fury/Fire Claws through to Titan Earth Shifter and I even brought a Fury druid at lvl49 to Hell Ancients only to learn that you need to be at least lvl60 (I think?) to fight them, preventing me to finish Hell at character lvl49
But when you think about it, is there anything better than taking a massive slapstick like Tomb Reaver, transform yourself to a puppy and smack everyone up? I don't think so.
I agree, though Hell Ancients at lvl 49 for a Fury Druid sounds like suicide to me!
The one I have going is lvl 85 and has a Tomb Reaver, and wears Leviathan armor. The ugliness of the armor disappears once transformed into a puppy. But it is a lot of fun to watch him lift his paw up, and slap a bunch of foes at once! I've played multiple tournament - untwincked characters, and Arcannas amulet has been almost always the last one i've found (and not just me, but other members of these tournaments aswell)...So its not coincidence...Not sure why is it so, though
Neksja
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@sanguillen I don't have my old lvl49 Druid saved up anywhere, but it's not as bad as it sounds. I can't remember the exact gear but wore Jalal's with Um and a similar beast to the one below. Having an axe like that and extra life from shapeshifting, I think it would have been doable. I remember the annoying part was to really keep an eye on your XP, I had to go and intentionally die every now and again to lose XP to keep the characater at lvl49
@T72on1 yeah, still no Arcanna's And I agree, Hammerdins are pretty good for area killing, however they are not the best at it either. But killing a boss pack and noticing that those hammers kill few normal monsters further away definitely helps. I wouldn't use Hammerdins in Cow level very actively though, kills cows relatively slow so everything is packed together and difficult to sift through the drops!
Decided to take a quick detour at Nihl's place and it's not as bad as I remember. The annoying part is when Nihl teleports around like crazy and I need to chase him to kill him. Did an hour and got as far as 2.2M, so XP is better than Diablo. I might do a bit of a combination of both to get the last level, it's still quite far away so I don't mind trying different things to keep the gameplay refreshing
Oath
Feral Axe
ShaelPulMalLum
Two Hand Damage: 146 - 730
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 49
Required Strength: 186
Fingerprint: 0xb08ccc8d
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
30% Chance to cast level 20 Bone Spirit on striking
Indestructible
+50% Increased Attack Speed
297% Enhanced Damage
+75% Damage to Demons
+100 to Attack Rating against Demons
Prevent Monster Heal
+10 to Energy
+10 Magic Absorb
Level 16 Heart of Wolverine (20/20 Charges)
Level 17 Iron Golem (14/14 Charges)
Ethereal
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Pul Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Lum Rune
Feral Axe
ShaelPulMalLum
Two Hand Damage: 146 - 730
Durability: 16 of 16
Required Level: 49
Required Strength: 186
Fingerprint: 0xb08ccc8d
Item Level: 59
Version: Expansion 1.10+
30% Chance to cast level 20 Bone Spirit on striking
Indestructible
+50% Increased Attack Speed
297% Enhanced Damage
+75% Damage to Demons
+100 to Attack Rating against Demons
Prevent Monster Heal
+10 to Energy
+10 Magic Absorb
Level 16 Heart of Wolverine (20/20 Charges)
Level 17 Iron Golem (14/14 Charges)
Ethereal
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Pul Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Lum Rune
@T72on1 yeah, still no Arcanna's
And I agree, Hammerdins are pretty good for area killing, however they are not the best at it either. But killing a boss pack and noticing that those hammers kill few normal monsters further away definitely helps. I wouldn't use Hammerdins in Cow level very actively though, kills cows relatively slow so everything is packed together and difficult to sift through the drops!Decided to take a quick detour at Nihl's place and it's not as bad as I remember. The annoying part is when Nihl teleports around like crazy and I need to chase him to kill him. Did an hour and got as far as 2.2M, so XP is better than Diablo. I might do a bit of a combination of both to get the last level, it's still quite far away so I don't mind trying different things to keep the gameplay refreshing
T72on1
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Normally if you don't get too close to Nihl, he doesn't teleport away. But I'm not sure if that's a possible method with a Hammerdin.
And yes, at cows it's definitely Necro and Javazon, not Hammerdin. But for CS I have seen so many reports of many HRs found by Hammerdins who spent a lot of time there, much more than for example my Blizz Sorc found.
Good luck !!
And yes, at cows it's definitely Necro and Javazon, not Hammerdin. But for CS I have seen so many reports of many HRs found by Hammerdins who spent a lot of time there, much more than for example my Blizz Sorc found.
Good luck !!
Neksja
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T72on1
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I did Blizzsorc with my 99er until level 98, and CS (mostly Gripphruns) from level 93 or so until level 98. I agree she is great there, probably the fastest at leveling. Still I just can't help noticing the amount of HRs found by Hammerdins in CS, much more than me and other 99ers have found there. I know the sample size is too small to make any reasonable conclusions, but given the nature of the skill, I'm not surprised with it.
My journey in nightmare was rather uneventful to be honest. The Countess was so eager to do battle, that she actually raced out of her chamber to greet me. Of course, her drop was absurdly miserly:
This became a common theme in Nightmare, as only two total uniques dropped between Andariel, Duriel, Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal:
You'll note that neither unique is exceptionally useful to anyone, much less a Necromancer. The good news is, I had enough raw materials to make a Lore Bone Helm, a Spirit Broad Sword, and a Rhyme Spiked Shield, which made Nightmare a relatively easy trip. Hell will obviously be a different story, so I've popped Tal, Ort, and Thul runes into a Light Plate armor to better prepare me for at least Act I in Hell, with resistances of 43/78/38/-13. Not ideal for hardcore, but onward I march.
[HIGHLIGHT]Hall of Fame[/HIGHLIGHT]
[HIGHLIGHT]Questing Heroes[/HIGHLIGHT]
[HIGHLIGHT]Resting Heroes[/HIGHLIGHT]
[HIGHLIGHT]The Fallen[/HIGHLIGHT]
This became a common theme in Nightmare, as only two total uniques dropped between Andariel, Duriel, Mephisto, Diablo, and Baal:
You'll note that neither unique is exceptionally useful to anyone, much less a Necromancer.
The good news is, I had enough raw materials to make a Lore Bone Helm, a Spirit Broad Sword, and a Rhyme Spiked Shield, which made Nightmare a relatively easy trip. Hell will obviously be a different story, so I've popped Tal, Ort, and Thul runes into a Light Plate armor to better prepare me for at least Act I in Hell, with resistances of 43/78/38/-13. Not ideal for hardcore, but onward I march.[HIGHLIGHT]Hall of Fame[/HIGHLIGHT]
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
zticazzy Perkele SC Barb 99 3.52 2016-07-12 No - - - -
Pb_pal Eleanor SC Sorc 99 3.52 2016-11-09 No 3068 437 5 -
NanoMist Izuna SC Sin 99 3.52 2016-12-25 No 5109 470 4 360
PhineasB Mercy SC Sin 99 3.52 2017-05-23 Yes - 475 11 -
PhineasB Hiatus SC Sorc 99 3.52 2017-12-25 Yes - 471 21 -
ffs HelpYourself SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-04-29 Yes - 447 - -
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
T72on1 Neverland SC Sorc 98.50 3.37 2018-06-05 Yes 2190 477 13 300+
Neksja Aura SC Pala 98.50 3.37 2018-07-22 Yes 8606 464 - -
Yng Sophie SC Sorc 98.3 3.31 2018-07-14 Yes - - 9 -
PhineasB Phaedrus SC Pala 98.1 3.26 2018-07-10 Yes - 370 13 -
ffs Ric SC Necro 97 2.96 2018-07-10 Yes - - - -
darkstarhub Neptune SC Sorc 97 2.96 2018-07-23 Yes - 470 - -
Bewitch itssoftcore SC Sorc 96 2.85 2018-07-02 Yes - - - -
Ashenshugar Natur SC Druid 96 2.71 2018-04-24 Yes 2529 - - -
Gynli Amazon SC Ama 96 2.71 2018-06-14 Yes - - - -
PhineasB Pestilence SC Necro 95 2.60 2018-07-10 Yes - - - -
CrustyRusty Space_Oddity SC Ama 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Zenigma Ayura SC Barb 93 2.11 2018-04-26 No - - - -
Pb_pal Klaus HC Druid 93 2.09 2018-06-21 Yes - - - -
RIP Kaira_II HC Sin 93 2.09 2018-07-03 Yes - 272 - -
Lord Molybdenum Verisimilitude SC Ama 90 1.62 2018-06-02 No 98 77 3 -
Trapin' ceegee SC Pala 90 1.62 2018-07-04 No - - - -
Hutton Terrahork HC Barb 90 0.00 2018-07-11 Yes - - - -
Zenigma Gnosis SC Druid 89 1.56 2018-04-26 No - - - -
T72on1 ShouldBeEasy HC Pala 8_8 1.36 2018-06-26 Yes 59 52 NA 42
Lord Molybdenum Cruise_Control SC Necro 87 1.25 2018-06-02 No 128 101 22 -
Burgomaster3 Hastur SC Druid 86 1.14 2018-07-02 Yes - - - -
Smittyphi TheLongRun SC Sorc 85 1.11 2018-05-28 Yes 30 - Yes -
DaveW Long_Term SC Sorc 84 0.97 2018-05-02 Yes Heaps - Lots 30+
Xul's Gull Xul HC Necro 81 0.74 2018-03-26 No - - - -
Vildecor Trina SC Ama 80 0.68 2018-06-07 Yes - - 0 -
ioupainmax Durnik SC Pala 79 0.63 2018-06-28 Yes 177 111 0 -
sanguillen GordonChen-UT HC Necro 74 0.00 2018-07-25 Yes - - - -
Burton Roberts Arizona SC Ama 56 0.08 2018-06-12 No - - 15 38
Lord Molybdenum Essa SC Sorc 55 0.08 2018-06-02 No 20 19 5 -
Pijus AGoodBoy HC Druid 45 0.00 2018-05-29 Yes - - - -
kstuart Nena SC Sorc 30 0.00 2018-07-22 Yes - - - -
RIP Espada HC Necro 24 0.00 2018-06-01 Yes - 13 - -
AlexTheNextOne Orion SC Pala 21 0.00 2018-07-22 No 1 - 0 6
DaveHutt Alice SC Ama 13 0.00 2018-05-18 Yes - - 1 -
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
hasuprotoss Reina SC Sorc 97 2.96 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1751 384 - -
Tarantella Tarasha HC Sorc 96 2.72 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Grim Furious_Blonde SC Ama 96 2.72 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
XyleneCyanol Fishie HC Sorc 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx HC Sorc 95 2.49 2017-03-31 Yes - - - -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky SC Barb 95 2.49 2017-12-14 Yes - - - -
Dezrok Salome SC Sorc 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 792 318 - -
Reyz Qty SC Sorc 93 2.10 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -
Me2Nik Fugu HC Ama 93 2.10 2018-02-05 Yes 80 - - -
Chaostar Prairie SC Sorc 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 659 261 12 126
OldSoldier Battleforge HC Pala 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 236 - -
kyndig DrearyAura HC Sorc 91 1.76 2018-02-20 Yes - - - -
tokerdin tokeress SC Sorc 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Southpaw Njord SC Druid 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Qwernt CanbeOnlyBlizz SC Sorc 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - ? ?
MercMan Este SC Ama 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1212 278 2 ?
Lynchgrinch Tattersail SC Sorc 89 1.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 321 ? ?
LiquidClear Sally SC Sin ** 1.36 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 225 - 1 -
liquid_mage zDadColdSorc SC Sorc ** 1.36 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 160 - -
Neksja Turirao SC Druid 87 1.25 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 191 124 5 -
Gladstone Socrates HC Druid 86 1.15 YYYY-MM-DD - - - - -
hackedagainanda Hugo HC Necro 85 1.05 2017-12-17 Yes - - - -
Naturallog Athos HC Barb 84 0.96 YYYY-MM-DD No 159 105 0 -
Qwernt AmaAgainstAll SC Sorc 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Gambit Mallenroh SC Sorc 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 0 0 0 0
Lord Molybdenum But_Why SC Sin 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD No 55 51 53 -
aarrgus Acala SC Barb 80 0.68 2017-12-30 Yes - - 5 -
Jean Avila SpeedAdict SC Ama 77 0.52 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - 50
logoutzero Digimon HC Necro 76 0.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 85 65 0 -
TwentyMuleTeam Rayne SC Sorc 76 0.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 195 140 - ?
Gripphon Ryu SC Sorc 76 0.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - ? 13
Darke Rahl Bells HC Ama 74 0.40 YYYY-MM-DD No 19 - 0 -
Smittyphi SliceNDice SC Sin 70 0.30 2018-03-27 Yes 15 - 6 -
Xul's Gull Araphel HC Necro 60 0.12 2017-12-21 No - - - -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb HC Barb 50 0.05 2018-01-06 Yes - - - 10
Klonki Dualizt_Ann SC Sorc 48 0.01 2018-02-24 Yes - 8 - 9
TrU Henryk SC Barb 41 0.02 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - 22 12
Gambit Colossus SC Pala 39 0.02 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 0 0 0 0
Smancer Smancer SC Necro 26 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1 - - -
drmalawi Liv SC Sorc 24 0.00 2018-05-01 Yes - - 0 -
BKC FearsomeFreddie SC Necro 23 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Ergroilnin Erilinda HC Sorc 20 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -[HIGHLIGHT]The Fallen[/HIGHLIGHT]
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
Bewitch itsreal HC Sorc 87 1.xx 2018-04-24 No - - - -
MizzouFTW Pure HC Necro 86 1.15 2018-01-10 Yes - - 1 -
Vildecor Celia HC Ama 84 0.99 2018-05-30 Yes 125 97 1 -
coju NintyNine_orRiP HC Sorc 81 0.74 2016-04-07 Yes - - 1 -
TwentyMuleTeam Valus HC Barb 76 0.48 2016-10-27 Yes - - 1 -
Pb_pal Stevesy HC Pala 76 0.48 2017-06-19 Yes - - 1 -
weezaard Cypher SC Druid 66 0.00 2018-02-21 Yes - - 20+ -
Tenecabo OldShatterhand HC Druid 49 0.04 2016-06-16 Yes - 0 1 -
Pijus Pyrestarter HC Druid 36 0.00 2018-05-21 Yes - - 1 -
coju fB HC Sorc 29 0.00 2016-04-09 Yes 1 1 1 2
Kitteh Verallus HC Druid 26 0.00 2016-03-25 No - - 1 -
logoutzero Rolex HC Barb 21 0.00 2016-03-26 Yes 0 0 1 1
ioupain
Well-known member
@sanguillen Get a Smoke Armor (Nef & Lum) for some sweet 50 all resists, better than Tal Ort Thul, assuming you have a Lum or 3 x Io
That is indeed my goal - great minds think alike!
I have a Serpentskin Armor base ready to go, but am just awaiting a Lum. The highest rune I have so far is Dol....though I don't have 27 of them. My luck in terms of drops so far has been bad, even by my substandards, hence the "econo" Smoke that I created as a get-me-by. But Smoke has always been a favourite of mine....Catching up on this thread -- welcome to the new runners! It's so great to continue having new entries more than 2 years into this challenge.
Also, welcome back @Neksja -- it's nice to see Aura back in the Questing Heros table and moving again. Stay safe and good luck getting the first untwinked pally 99er!
Finally, condolences to @Yng for the death, but kudos for recovering the corpse and getting back on it immediately. The Griffons drop was a reward for taking it in stride! Can't wait to see the future progress with that gear upgrade.
Also, welcome back @Neksja -- it's nice to see Aura back in the Questing Heros table and moving again. Stay safe and good luck getting the first untwinked pally 99er!
Finally, condolences to @Yng for the death, but kudos for recovering the corpse and getting back on it immediately. The Griffons drop was a reward for taking it in stride! Can't wait to see the future progress with that gear upgrade.
ioupain
Well-known member
That is indeed my goal - great minds think alike!
I had a feeling that was the case, but sometimes, I forget that there are original runewords that are still pretty good, so I mentioned in case it was one of those situations.
Absolutely, and I appreciate the sentiment.
For someone as notoriously rune-poor like me, Smoke, Rhyme, Lore, and Lionheart (a poor man's Fortitude) are all staples in the development of my characters.I forgot to mention above that the Hellforge drop in Nightmare was, shockingly, a Sol (couple that with the Eld from Normal, and by my calculations I got the 120th best combination out of 121 possible), to go along with the Countess dropping 0 runes. Arrgh. I should also mention that my merc is now equipped with an Insight Partizan. Realistically, my short-term goal is to get him something similar in either a Cryptic Axe or a Great Poleaxe, and to find a Guillaume's or a Rattlecage to get him some Crushing Blow....unless I find an Um (Duress). I'd also settle for a Lem (Treachery).
ioupain
Well-known member
If you're going for Treachery, then aim for an Eth Thresher for your merc so that he has 5 frame Jab with the 45% IAS from Treachery and he reaches the Str/Dex requirements sooner than the other Elite polearms.
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Back when I briefly tested a kicker against Nihlathak, Decrep from Reaper's Toll helped considerably in slowing down his attempts to flee. If you can run without Insight, maybe give Reaper's a try.
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