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Vessel of Hatred

The Untwinked Level 99 Progress Thread, Revenge of the 99ers

@Trapin' I'm pretty sure %ED to Demon and Undeaded are added in with skill %ED. I can't remember where, but theres a thread somewhere around here with a full damage formula. I'll look for it later, just making a pit stop on the road for now. Short of it is, it becomes less substantial the more off weapon/skill %ED you have.
 
I am still questing, don't count me out yet. I just get sent into the field for months on end between playing session. Will send character update when I get back to my gaming PC in home office.
 
I might add Aurora in the table for running characters tomorrow, depending on how my questing goes.

Apologies, write up for Aura has been very, very slow. The little time I've had left has been spent actually playing rather than writing, but I'll get the thread out tomorrow the latest!
 
Very niche utility drop, but surely an option for Ric when running Nihlathak for 98-99. The iDR is a nice defensive stat for Nihl of course, and with the facets available to him currently, this could get +15/-12 poison damage (about 4x higher PN damage increase than from Shako/+2 skills). Hoto or White will allow him to still hit 125% FCR. Still at only one P&B skiller though (and zero Death's Webs btw :)) so likely no respec until 98.

View attachment 10488

Been mixing in Pit runs quite a bit. Despite significantly lower XP provided by the individual runs, I find myself gaining more XP in my D2 sessions overall. Just because after every boring Baal run, it's quite an effort bringing myself to start a new game, every time. ;)
 
Hm, somehow im more or less back to vizier/infector runs without diablo, somehow its feels, even if i go for p1 on seis, pretty slow and annoying.
ah, and i accidentally made a normal game so i lost my cs map, but the new one seems to be ok as well i guess.

Drops where:
-5 +3 fire rbf, fhr trap sk, cham, ohm, pala off sk.





dropvids:
https://clips.twitch.tv/CalmInspiringBulgogiNerfRedBlaster
https://clips.twitch.tv/PeacefulAnnoyingKaleNotATK


[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       -      -
Neksja           Aura             SC     Pala   99     3.52  2018-08-08  Yes     -    481       -      -
[HIGHLIGHT]Questing Heroes[/HIGHLIGHT]
Rich (BB code): 
Forumite         Character        SC/HC  Class  Level  Exp   Date        E/S  S/U   Grail  Deaths  Hours
---------------  ---------------  -----  -----  -----  ----  ----------  ---  ----  -----  ------  -----
T72on1           Neverland        SC     Sorc   98.66  3.42  2018-07-29  Yes  lots    480      13    300+
Yng              Sophie           SC     Sorc   98.44  3.35  2018-07-14  Yes     -      -      10      -
PhineasB         Phaedrus         SC     Pala   98.1   3.26  2018-07-10  Yes     -    370      13      -
ffs              Ric              SC     Necro  97     3.00  2018-08-06  Yes     -      -       -      -
Bewitch          itssoftcore      SC     Sorc   97     2.99  2018-07-02  Yes     -      -       -      -
darkstarhub      Neptune          SC     Sorc   97     2.96  2018-07-23  Yes     -    470       -      - 
PhineasB         Pestilence       SC     Necro  96     2.84  2018-07-31  Yes     -      -       -      -
Ashenshugar      Natur            SC     Druid  96     2.71  2018-04-24  Yes  2529      -       -      -
Gynli            Amazon           SC     Ama    96     2.71  2018-06-14  Yes     -      -       -      -
CrustyRusty      Space_Oddity     SC     Ama    95     2.49  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     -      -       -      -
RIP              Kaira_II         HC     Sin    94     2.32  2018-07-03  Yes     -    318       -      -
Zenigma          Ayura            SC     Barb   93     2.11  2018-04-26  No      -      -       -      -
Pb_pal           Klaus            HC     Druid  93     2.09  2018-06-21  Yes     -      -       -      -
Potent           Challenge(CL)    SC     Sorc   92     1.96  2018-07-30  no      -      -       -      -
Hutton           Terrahork        HC     Barb   92     0.00  2018-08-04  Yes     -      -       -      -
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      -      -       -      -
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      -
sanguillen       GordonChen-UT    HC     Necro  85     1.06  2018-08-09  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      -
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      -
AlexTheNextOne   Orion            SC     Pala   49     0.00  2018-07-22  No     14      -       0     26
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       -      -
DaveHutt         Alice            SC     Ama    13     0.00  2018-05-18  Yes     -      -       1      -
[HIGHLIGHT]Resting Heroes[/HIGHLIGHT]
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
 
pwFoU3Q.jpg


Another 12% gained since my last update. 56.5% (about 70% after Ancients) total now so only a little over 86m to go!
Another Burning GC (4th) to pile on the salt about my lack of Sparking. I also finally caved and went back to Normal to socket that Griffon's (which received a Sol which put me at 23 total PDR). That meant I also had to roll another map. I settled for this HoP and this HoV, another 3 shrine indirect route.

Other drops included an eth bugged SA, 2nd Metalgrid, another imperfect Lightning RBF, a 34/10 SotV (yes, that's better than the one I socketed..), another of each Thresher and GPA to roll, a 26/9 NP, and a Pul to round it all off. Important to keep in mind not to linger around for drops too long, though.

Oh, and the ever less-elusive:
Finally squeezed out of Nihlathak at nearly 7000 runs in completing my rune grail for this character (he gave me my first ever Ber and Zod drops on SP).

DDIy2J2.jpg



[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       -      -
Neksja           Aura             SC     Pala   99     3.52  2018-08-08  Yes     -    481       -      -
[HIGHLIGHT]Questing Heroes[/HIGHLIGHT]
Rich (BB code): 
Forumite         Character        SC/HC  Class  Level  Exp   Date        E/S  S/U   Grail  Deaths  Hours
---------------  ---------------  -----  -----  -----  ----  ----------  ---  ----  -----  ------  -----
T72on1           Neverland        SC     Sorc   98.66  3.42  2018-07-29  Yes  lots    480      13    300+
Yng              Sophie           SC     Sorc   98.56  3.39  2018-08-12  Yes     -      -      10      -
PhineasB         Phaedrus         SC     Pala   98.1   3.26  2018-07-10  Yes     -    370      13      -
ffs              Ric              SC     Necro  97     3.00  2018-08-06  Yes     -      -       -      -
Bewitch          itssoftcore      SC     Sorc   97     2.99  2018-07-02  Yes     -      -       -      -
darkstarhub      Neptune          SC     Sorc   97     2.96  2018-07-23  Yes     -    470       -      - 
PhineasB         Pestilence       SC     Necro  96     2.84  2018-07-31  Yes     -      -       -      -
Ashenshugar      Natur            SC     Druid  96     2.71  2018-04-24  Yes  2529      -       -      -
Gynli            Amazon           SC     Ama    96     2.71  2018-06-14  Yes     -      -       -      -
CrustyRusty      Space_Oddity     SC     Ama    95     2.49  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     -      -       -      -
RIP              Kaira_II         HC     Sin    94     2.32  2018-07-03  Yes     -    318       -      -
Zenigma          Ayura            SC     Barb   93     2.11  2018-04-26  No      -      -       -      -
Pb_pal           Klaus            HC     Druid  93     2.09  2018-06-21  Yes     -      -       -      -
Potent           Challenge(CL)    SC     Sorc   92     1.96  2018-07-30  no      -      -       -      -
Hutton           Terrahork        HC     Barb   92     0.00  2018-08-04  Yes     -      -       -      -
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      -      -       -      -
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      -
sanguillen       GordonChen-UT    HC     Necro  85     1.06  2018-08-09  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      -
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      -
AlexTheNextOne   Orion            SC     Pala   49     0.00  2018-07-22  No     14      -       0     26
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       -      -
DaveHutt         Alice            SC     Ama    13     0.00  2018-05-18  Yes     -      -       1      -
[HIGHLIGHT]Resting Heroes[/HIGHLIGHT]
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
 
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Finds from the last update

View attachment 10496


View attachment 10497


View attachment 10498


All these items found for the second time

And this

View attachment 10499

SUR away from Enigma...Kaira feels almost like Klaus's twin...started their journeys almost at the same time, clvl is nearly the same and both are waiting for the last rune to finish Infinity + Enigma project...On top of that, both HC chars...I wish You best of luck @Pb_pal , hopefully our adventures will end up very well ;) In other words, no deeds
 
Very nice progress both @Yng and @RIP, really great stuff!

Regarding this:
ffs said:
Still at only one P&B skiller though (and zero Death's Webs btw :)) so likely no respec until 98.
Click to expand...

Well, once more I did the opposite of what I said I'd do. :) Baaling just doesn't work out for me in terms of motivation right now and Pits just weren't efficient enough. :rolleyes: So I decided to go ahead in radical fashion and switch to a PN build mid-level. While PN delivered slightly increased XP from Pit runs (rolled some ~12-15 decent maps and ran each for a while), I figured it was best to move to Nihlathak in any case. This is what runs look like:


Is it weird to say I missed the guy? ;)

Initial runs above are ~29s average. 3.92m XP/h in this session, which would translate to ~2.95m XP/h for 98-99. I'm happy with that considering I'm only starting out. In a really weird way, the map is almost exactly the same as the one I settled for with HelpYourself, including a HoV shrine that can be checked immediately upon entering and a HoP shrine that spawns en route when taking the first teleport to the south. For now, I went with this setup (also in vid):

Hoto 36@ eth Flail
35 Spirit
Shako 'PTopaz'
Enigma
Mara's
FCR/life/mana ring
Dwarf Star
Arachnid Mesh
Aldur's boots
Trang's gloves

Switch: +3 BO CtA/Spirit
Inventory: One P&B Skiller, Gheed's, assorted life and life/resist SCs.
Merc (Might): Infinity eth CA, Fortitude eth bugged Great Hauberk, Andariel's Visage (15% IAS/28% ED)

I'm using the Dwarf Star for life and in particular because it's nice in mitigating Nihl's CE damage, which is actually the only danger for this guy. Another option would have been to use Verdungo's in conjunction with a 2/10 amulet and another FCR ring, for an extra 15% PDR. Not much of a difference between the two though variants.

I did some testing with +6 PN White and Beast setups as well, and need to do more of that to check out the long-term differences. For short-term, they didn't make a measurable difference, so for now I was going with Hoto because it offers higher life and generally better defensive stats.

After the initial theorycrafting for Nihlathak running, it was time to get serious in comparing the theoretical performance of different weapons and curses. So I did some number crunching for hours. :) Again I thought I'd share this for those interested, in particular considering @PhineasB is going to do the same soon and I'm curious to see what he comes up with. Here we go, lots of numbers:

Of course I only ran the numbers for Ric and the gear he could use (except for DWeb, which I also ran the numbers for to see what difference it would make in my case).

[Highlight]Weapon setups and PN damage: [/Highlight]

Faceted sword -21/+18 RBF (+ 1/20 circlet) => 5785.78 max PN
Nihl PR: 49%
2s damage: 2950.7478 = 1475.3739/second
I ruled this out quickly, just not worth the extra PN damage (see below for CE damage).

White + Shako ’Something’: 7246 max
Nihl PR: 70% = 2s damage: 2173.8 = 1086.9/second

White + Shako (-5/+4) RBF): 7476.84 max
Nihl PR: 65% = 2s damge: 2616.894 = 1308.447/second
LR (lvl 12 = -57 PR): Nihl PR = 8 => 7476.84 * 0.92 = 6878.6928 max = 3439.3464/second

White + 3 RBF Tiara (-15/+12): 7255 max
Nihl PR: 55% => 2s damage: 3264.984 = 1632.375/second
LR: Nihl PR = -2 => 7255*1.02 = 7400.1 max = 3700 per second

Perfect Death’s Web for comparison: -6002 max
Nihl PR: 20% => 4802 = 2401/second
LR: 8222 = 4111/second


[Highlight]CE damage and LR vs AD[/Highlight]
Now for what actually kills Nihlathak, and how the different setups above compare in that regard. Relevant numbers to start off with:

P8 Nihl HP: 120105
Slayer HP (P1): 6825 (almost all of CE's damage will come from these)
95% (CE avg): 6483.75
Physical/Fire each 3241.875
Infinity = -85 EFR

Non-FI Nihl:
-52 EFR after Infinity => CE fire avg = 3241.875 * 1.52 = 4927.65 + phys (3241.875) = 8169.525
CEs needed for kill before either AD or LR: 14.7

Using AD: physical dmg = 6483.75 + fire (4927.65) = 11411.4 damage per CE
CEs needed for kill (without PN damage): 10.525
after 5s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 113677.25 => 9.96 CEs
after 7s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 111106.15 => 9.73 CEs
after 5s PN (P RBF Tiara): Nihl HP = 111943.125 => 9.80 CEs
after 7s PN (P RBF Tiara): Nihl HP = 108678.375 => 9.52 CEs
after 5s PN (Death’s Web): Nihl HP = 108105 => 9.47 CEs
after 7s PN (Death’s Web): Nihl HP = 103305 => 9.05 CEs

Using LR (lvl 12): Nihl FR = -100 fire dmg = physical dmg = 3241.875 + fire (6483.75) = 9725.625
CEs needed for kill: 12.35
after 5s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 102908.268 => 10.58 CEs
after 7s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 96029.5752 => 9.87 CEs
after 5s PN (Death’s Web): Nihl HP = 99555 => 10.24 CEs
after 7s PN (Death’s Web): Nihl HP = 91328 => 9.39 CEs

Breakable FI Nihl:
91 FR after Infinity => 291.76 fire avg + 3241.875 = 3533.64375
CEs needed for kill: 33.98 without AD/LR

Using AD: physical dmg = 6483.75 + fire (291.76) = 6483.75
CEs needed for kill: 17.726
after 5s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 113677.25 => 17.53 CEs
after 7s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 111106.15 => 17.13 CEs
after 5s PN (DWeb): Nihl HP = 108105 => 16.67 CEs
after 7s PN (FWeb): Nihl HP = 103305 => 15.93 CEs

Using LR: Nihl FR = 80; fire dmg = 3241.875 * 0.2 = 648.375 + phys 3241.875 = 3890.25
after 5s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 102908.268 => 26.45 CEs
after 7s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 96029.5752 => 24.68 CEs

As for AD vs LR, the latter is better vs FI rolls and the former is better vs non-FI rolls in such a way that it pretty much evens out exactly. I'm using AD now but I realized that the IG is extremely sturdy with max Golem Mastery, so I could easily take points out of that and get LR with a respec, which I might do and use vs. FI rolls.

EDIT: Scratch that, AD is stronger in both scenarios as @NanoMist pointed out the calculation for breakable FI didn't include the right values. The result is also in line with in-game testing where LR never beat AD for me.

Against Nihl himself, PN damage does not have much of an impact. Having Death's Web or not translates to a difference of only 1-2 more CE casts required to kill him. Of course PN damages the surrounding monsters and thus the CE chain can be started a little more quickly with higher PN damage so it's definitely the skill to use irrespective of its damage. Altogether this really again shows that CE is king. Everything else is weak stuff to support it. ;) I went with Hoto over White/Beast in my case for now because it enables great flexibility and defensive stats. It is the least offensive setup, but considering the numbers above, any difference between weapons is super small in any case. I might (and probably will) go for a more offensive setup at some point though.

Found a few cute drops as well the last couple of days:
View attachment 10501 View attachment 10502 View attachment 10503 View attachment 10504 View attachment 10505 View attachment 10506 View attachment 10507 View attachment 10508 View attachment 10509 View attachment 10510

All in all I'm happy with the switch. This feels like starting the grind for the last bit already, though it's going to be some 7k more Nihl runs than I did with HelpYourself. :)
 
Last edited:
[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       -      -
Neksja           Aura             SC     Pala   99     3.52  2018-08-08  Yes     -    481       -      -
[HIGHLIGHT]Questing Heroes[/HIGHLIGHT]
Rich (BB code): 
Forumite         Character        SC/HC  Class  Level  Exp   Date        E/S  S/U   Grail  Deaths  Hours
---------------  ---------------  -----  -----  -----  ----  ----------  ---  ----  -----  ------  -----
T72on1           Neverland        SC     Sorc   98.66  3.42  2018-07-29  Yes  lots    480      13    300+
Yng              Sophie           SC     Sorc   98.56  3.39  2018-08-12  Yes     -      -      10      -
PhineasB         Phaedrus         SC     Pala   98.1   3.26  2018-07-10  Yes     -    370      13      -
ffs              Ric              SC     Necro  97     3.00  2018-08-06  Yes     -      -       -      -
Bewitch          itssoftcore      SC     Sorc   97     2.99  2018-07-02  Yes     -      -       -      -
darkstarhub      Neptune          SC     Sorc   97     2.96  2018-07-23  Yes     -    470       -      - 
PhineasB         Pestilence       SC     Necro  96     2.84  2018-07-31  Yes     -      -       -      -
Ashenshugar      Natur            SC     Druid  96     2.71  2018-04-24  Yes  2529      -       -      -
Gynli            Amazon           SC     Ama    96     2.71  2018-06-14  Yes     -      -       -      -
CrustyRusty      Space_Oddity     SC     Ama    95     2.49  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     -      -       -      -
RIP              Kaira_II         HC     Sin    94     2.32  2018-07-03  Yes     -    318       -      -
Zenigma          Ayura            SC     Barb   93     2.11  2018-04-26  No      -      -       -      -
Pb_pal           Klaus            HC     Druid  93     2.09  2018-06-21  Yes     -      -       -      -
Potent           Challenge(CL)    SC     Sorc   92     1.96  2018-07-30  no      -      -       -      -
Hutton           Terrahork        HC     Barb   92     0.00  2018-08-04  Yes     -      -       -      -
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      -      -       -      -
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      -
sanguillen       GordonChen-UT    HC     Necro  85     1.06  2018-08-09  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      -
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      -
AlexTheNextOne   Orion            SC     Pala   49     0.00  2018-07-22  No     14      -       0     26
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       -      -
DaveHutt         Alice            SC     Ama    13     0.00  2018-05-18  Yes     -      -       1      -
[HIGHLIGHT]Resting Heroes[/HIGHLIGHT]
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


Very nice progress everyone! Keep on going! @Yng not much to go, just keep running and running, soon enough you'll be in the Hall of Fame too! Which leads me to update the Hall of Fame -table with Aura's 99-thread.

Aurora will be in the table in my next update, possibly next week. She's through to Normal Act 5 now, so I want to push through to Hell Act 5 before adding her to the table, similar to what I did with Aura back in 2016 :)
 
ffs said:
As for AD vs LR, the latter is better vs FI rolls and the former is better vs non-FI rolls in such a way that it pretty much evens out exactly. I'm using AD now but I realized that the IG is extremely sturdy with max Golem Mastery, so I could easily take points out of that and get LR with a respec, which I might do and use vs. FI rolls.
Click to expand...

This was a rather surprising conclusion for me regarding AD vs LR- My thought was that AD should always provide the largest damage boost against Nihlathak who cannot be PI. That -100% physical resistance is always working at full effectiveness, which is greater than anything LR can provide.

Admittedly, I had skimmed through the numbers portion, but I looked back at this part:
ffs said:
Breakable FI Nihl:

Using LR: Nihl FR = 34; fire dmg = 3241.875 * 1.66 = 5381.5125 + phys 3241.875 = 8623.3875
CEs needed for kill: 13.927
after 5s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 102908.268 => 11.93 CEs
after 7s PN (White + Shako RBF): Nihl HP = 96029.5752 => 11.14 CEs
after 5s PN (DWeb): Nihl HP = 99555 => 11.54 CEs
after 7s PN (FWeb): Nihl HP = 91328 => 10.59 CEs
Click to expand...

LR still works at 1/5 effectiveness even after Conviction breaks the immunity, and also vice versa. Even if LR worked at full effectiveness, AD still wins out, as the calculation for FR = 34 should be a 0.66 multiplier.

Nice work though- I gave Nihlathak a thought at level 97 with my trapper, but the difference in experience gain was too great for me to leave the boring Baal runs. For me, that long S&Q time is a killer.
 
@NanoMist Thanks for pointing that out, you're right of course. No idea why I accounted for the 20% penalty only for Conviction or how I arrived at the 1.66 factor.. it was a getting bit late when I ran the numbers yesterday. ;) Edited in the values based on 80% PR in that scenario, and yes AD is stronger in case of FI rolls (in fact more so than vs non-FI). So, clear choice in that regard. It seemed weird in any case because in-game AD always seemed to be faster also for Nihlathak.
 
Back then with my trapper, every time I faced an FE/LE Nihlathak, I wished I had AD to make that run go faster. I'm sure @PhineasB can attest to this. That was why that stuck out to me the most, but I was also certain that you'd catch it during actual running.
 
Well, it saved me the time spent to farm a Diablo essence in order to respec and test LR, that would have been time not running Nihlathak. ;) Though when it comes to interesting conclusions, what I thought was surprising is how little PN does in bringing down Nihl's life, even with LR. At least without DWeb, I'm leaning towards pretty much ignoring PN damage and run with Beast instead to get faster Merc kills, once I'm more experienced in judging the various situations with Necro down there. His options to stay at 125% FCR with Beast include a rare 1/20 and a blue 20 FCR circlet with 2 sockets to make use of. We'll see, for now I like the Hoto/Shako setup to get comfortable with the runs.
 
NanoMist said:
Back then with my trapper, every time I faced an FE/LE Nihlathak, I wished I had AD to make that run go faster. I'm sure @PhineasB can attest to this. That was why that stuck out to me the most, but I was also certain that you'd catch it during actual running.
Click to expand...
Actually, I am pretty sure breakable FI/LI was the only Nihl roll that was an immediate S&E for Mercy. It took too long with both damage sources nerfed. Unbreakable on either wasn't much trouble because the other was powerful enough.

Interesting number crunching @ffs -- unless Nihl turns out to be too unsafe (unlikely based on my earlier testing to find GCs for rerolling), I am pretty sure Pestilence will bounce between Nihl, CS, and the Pit in order to save Ancients for level 98. Thanks for all the number-crunching, as it confirms what I expected to be true.

The one wild-card for me is Dweb and how LR will interact with the difference spawns (particularly vipers) to generate CE chains. I doubt it will change things, but I want to do some testing.

But even without DWeb, I wouldn't underestimate the value of PN to lower life for minions and generate a bunch of corpses quickly. I think it's a pretty big contributor to the overall run, rather than relying solely on merc, IG, and CE for corpses.
 
I let my merc finish Nihlathak after all the corpses were exhausted, I doubt it took longer than a new run... I think.
 
Great progress everyone. Especially @Yng ... yet another person to finish in front of me most likely. Ah well, no stress :).

O yes, and yet another Zod ??!!
 
Just ran for about 20 minutes with a Beast setup and got around ~27.5s average, so ~1.5 seconds faster than the initial runs with Hoto. I think I'll stick to the more tanky Hoto/Shako variant for a little longer though, and compare again once I've got the routine a bit more streamlined.

PhineasB said:
But even without DWeb, I wouldn't underestimate the value of PN to lower life for minions and generate a bunch of corpses quickly. I think it's a pretty big contributor to the overall run, rather than relying solely on merc, IG, and CE for corpses.
Click to expand...

To clarify, I'm still using PN, only with Beast instead of Hoto/White. Sure PN contributes to the run, it's just to a much lesser degree than I would have expected. So at least in my case, giving up on some PN damage in order to power up the Merc a lot with Beast seems more beneficial for overall run times (though at the expense of other stats). Could very well be very different with Death's Web and more skillers. Might do a few runs with my twinked PN Necro actually to see how that compares..
 
Curious how Bone Spear (Confuse if Vipers, Amp otherwise) compares at Nihlathak, particularly with twinked gear and no delay. Any possibility for you to test it @ffs?
 
@Yng Yes I did some testing, as mentioned in this post earlier. I took the same approach that @scrcrw tested, there are a couple of vids here and here. He was running with Nature's Peace and without Merc/IG (eliminating Viper issues), simply focusing down Nihl with Bone Spear. But as you can see in the vids he was running with very good gear, and it's still a couple of seconds slower than my runs, even though I have much less firepower from skillers or OP items.

When calculating things yesterday I also took a look at Bone Spear numbers, but they indicated some ~15-20s to kill Nihl (with Bone Spear alone and given I only have that one skiller) which was clearly too slow, so I didn't bother testing in game.

I didn't test combining it with running with Merc/IG and using CE though. Could be an alternative, especially considering I'm a bit underwhelmed with PN. :) It seems more natural to combine PN with CE as it hits more monsters and (given its DoT) deals damage while spamming CE, whereas you can only cast either Bone Spear or CE at a given time. I can only assume this was also @scrcrw's reasoning for the route he took with Bone Spear. But I'm inclined to test it with CE, will let you know how it goes. :)
 
If there’s no CE usage then it’s pointless. You have CC curses available with massive radius, no reason to not run Merc and spam CE as soon he gets a kill. My assumption is that Spear/CE will be just as fast at killing him in general but better at killing him when there aren’t corpses.
 
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