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

Grim · Oct 6, 2017

Congrats on the almost perfect griffon's. It's truly impressive and i would socket it without looking back...

Also i would start running LK and searching for a eth polearm, before switching to lightning.
It actually took me longer to find the base than the runes for Infinity... It was really frustating for me and I finally caved and when a 4 sock eth CV dropped, I just made it in one... Although it obviously wasn't my first choice... I'm close to lvl 97 and a better option still hasn't dropped. So no regrets there...

I would also keep my last socket quest until I find a satisfying tempo in leveling with lightning...

So I wish you luck in finding a base... Cause the runes are only a matter of time (which can be easily predicted thanks to griphon's thread).

ffs · Oct 6, 2017

Yeah of course I'll only go lightning with Infinity. Regarding base as I said I have an eth Great Poleaxe but haven't rolled sockets in it yet. Will do that with my next P'Amethyst. To be honest I don't really care about the base and would take any eth elite polearm. My other Infinity is in CV as well because I didn't have a Thresher or something else at the time -- and while that means missing out on some crushing blow or faster aura triggering, this rarely makes a (minor) difference, and even though I have better bases now I couldn't care less.

I'm not worried about finding either the runes or the base. Question for me is just do I commit to lightning by socketing Griffon's (and possibly Viper), and more importantly, is switching to lighting acceptable from an XP gaining perspective...

PhineasB1 · Oct 6, 2017

Switch!!!

Hiatus is pure lightning due to moral imperative of having one on the table running Nihl, but you actually have the gear (Hiatus lacks Griffons AND Arach).

Even if a bit slower than pure Blizz for CS seals, I think pure lightning will still be pretty quick. Hiatus has played around in CS since respec and the only issue would be unbreakable LIs (Vizier fairly common), but there are unbreakable CIs also. So kill the minions and skip the boss, S&E, and move onto the next run. And your calculus of speed would have to account for not having Fathom vs having Griffon's.

Also, check out your skillers. Hiatus took a hit when she switched because she had 4 Cold skillers but only one Lightning.

Finally, I'd recommend giving Crescent Moon a shot. You shouldn't have any trouble hitting 117 FCR with Griffon and Arachnid's. As long as you have decent resists, I think it might speed things up further?

ffs · Oct 6, 2017

@PhineasB That's good to know and all I needed to hear. Thanks for giving me the push

on to the LK Surs it is!

Yeah as I said I also think I should able to use Crescent Moon since I can take care of FCR and resists, especially given Griffon's, Arach and 35@ Viper which can be Um'ed if need be. But Hoto is extremely strong for lightning. I did some calculations on lightning sorc setups back in RFL round 3 (aka animal cruelty in cow level) which indicated that Eschuta's, Hoto and CM are extremely close to each other in terms of performance. I ended up preferring Hoto due to the FCR/resist enabling more flexibility and advantages with remaining gear, while only taking a minor hit in damage. However, that was with a fully geared character (plenty of skillers, SoJs, +3/FCR amu). As I don't have SoJs and my skiller count is at a big fat zero, I will have to recalculate for this situation. Of course, the skiller count hopefully changes in those LK runs ahead -- and it better not be cold skillers.

ffs · Oct 7, 2017

Good news #1:

View attachment 6504

Good news #2: Only one Sur and a base away from Infinity.

Bad news #1:

View attachment 6505
I said FOUR sockets, damn cube

Bad news #2: Due to vacation I need to take another 2 week break. :/ Hope to finish Infinity before MFO early November though since I intend to run with her despite other chars being more efficient.

Progress Update

Code:

Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98             Yes           -        438           19           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      92             No            -          -          many          ?
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      **             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      **             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
Kitteh        Darozzo         HC      Druid     45             No            -          -            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen

Code:

Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

EDIT: Good news #3:

View attachment 6506

This girl is on fire.

PhineasB1 · Oct 7, 2017

Hiatus joins Neverland at 98.25, with no major excitement (good or bad) since her last update. Efficiency of runs slowly picked up. She’s now averaging pretty much the 2.5M/hour benchmark (+/- dependent on number of LI Nihl and other monster rolls that lead to S&E).

On the finds front, little of note. For runes: Gul, Um, Gul #2. The only items worth a screen shot were Death Cleaver and Head Hunter’s Glory that turned out to be eth, which was pretty cool. Other notable finds were a 3/18/5 SC of Fortune, Trang’s helm (grailer for her), and eth Blizzard Ormus (low damage roll), Highlord’s Wrath (grailer for her), another Azurewrath, and Vidala’s armor (grailer for her). For her grail, she’s down only to 2 exceptional uniques, and everything else is jewelry, TC3 or TC87, except a few other remaining elite uniques (including Arachnid’s still

).

It was basically three weeks of running for this quarter level, with the death and loss of 11M XP mixed in. Hiatus still has Ancients, so this pace would leave ~7 weeks to hit 98.

Like Neverland, though, Hiatus is going, um, on hiatus for a while, probably not picking back up until Thanksgiving (US). We are leaving for three-week vacation mid-week, and then it will be very busy work when I get back, and limited playtime will go to MFO. Then we’re visiting my wife’s parents, followed by my brother visiting from the east coast. We also have a trip back east in early December. So the goal of finishing before the end of the year may be out of each. But the holidays are the wild card.

Phaedrus will get some runs for the few days before we leave, hoping to make solid progress toward 95. Good luck to all the runners. And congrats @ffs on the Griffon’s and decision to go pure lightning. I hope it’s fun and the runes (edit: rune after nice drops) for Infinity fall quickly!

* * *

Progress Update

Code:

Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      92             No            -          -          many          ?
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      **             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      **             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
Kitteh        Darozzo         HC      Druid     45             No            -          -            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen

Code:

Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

ffs · Oct 9, 2017

Thanks, also for providing the necessary motivation @PhineasB!

I'm also thinking about going crazy and making Infinity in a low req weapon and use it myself. I realized I have the stuff to hit 117 FCR with such a setup and take care of resists reasonably well (35@ Viper, two FCR/@ rings, +2/FCR/@ amu alongside Arach and Griffon's). Should be similar damage on Conviction, stronger on mobs not hit by Conviction, and of course the major advantage being it enables Insight Merc. However it would also mean taking hits in other departments. Will need to calculate and think it through very carefully, in the past I've always concluded that Infinity Merc setup is better. But it can't be denied it would be pure style.

Chilling on the beaches of south east Asia now but I'll continue her quest once I'm back.

ceegee · Oct 9, 2017

Hey guys! First time posting in this thread as the idea of it is interesting to me. I'm curious if there is a guide or some kind of run pattern you guys follow to most effeciently get to 99?

Did you mf a ton to gear up to be able to handle end game runs?

What do you run exactly for optimum xp?

Is it plausable for a non cookie cutter build to keep pace with others?

Yng · Oct 9, 2017

I think someone quoted an older post of the table for the update, my HC Druid @ 90 is missing. I also started a SC Sorc as a side project (Sophie, same name as my HC Sorc that RIP'd @ clvl 86 in Hell AT) and I was able to play around 30-40 minutes today. She's clvl 14 from stopping for all champs/non LE uniques on P8 and just finished Stealth from Countess (the default map is like maybe 20 yards to Tower from WP lol). Using the standard speed run build heavily invested into CB with utility points in Frost Nova/Static Field/TK. I'll probably respec Nova after Andariel and Blizzard after Normal Baal. Wanted something with no risk of losing everything on death so I can play extremely aggressive/have something for MFOs etc.

Sadly I'm on my phone and I don't want to break the format of the table, if someone doesn't mind updating? There's also a 94 Druid from last page (Natur IIRC?) if someone wants to add him to. If not, I'll get to it when I'm home. Thanks, good luck all!

T72on1 · Oct 9, 2017

@Trapin' Welcome to this fun little challenge !!!

There's not really a guide no. Lots of good info scattered in this thread though, which is only 77 pages long

.

Basically you want to move fast through normal and nightmare. Up the player count only if you can still get through fast. Do Pindle runs on the highest player setting you can still do quite fast to gain more levels before you move on to the next difficulty.

Try to include some mf in your gear to get improvements. Don't overdo it though, as some basic runewords like Stealth, Spirit, Insight, Rhyme and Lore can get you a very long way. Your first big goal will be Hell LK to farm some runes for the higher runewords you want: (depending on the build) CtA, HotO, Enigma, Infinity, Grief. It might seem to take long to find the runes for those, but believe me, in the long run it's not that much time, and it will speed up the process afterwards. Note that you don't need all that gear right away. CtA and HotO (or Grief / Oath if you are melee) will get you a long way already.

After that you can level some more on Pindle (until around level 87) or go the A85 area of your choice. People typically take AT or Pits for it, with very good reason

. Run those until around level 93 - 94. When you switch depends on the strength and type of your build. Most characters run the left and right seal in CS from that moment on. At 98 they cash in Ancients and start running either Nihlathak or Diablo. This isn't true for all characters though, as it depends on your build. Best info on it is found in the different threads of those who already reached 99, although it's also in this thread ... somewhere.

Non cookie cutter could work, but will almost always be slower. Blizz Sorc (converted to something else later on), Trapsins, Hammerdins, they are king of speedy progress. But depending on your gear, other things could work too. Most important factor is to have fun, since you are in for the long haul on this one. Also don't forget that you can respec, so there is some room for changes down the road.

Good luck !!

Yng · Oct 12, 2017

Kyrie going to be pushed aside for a while so I can focus on preparing my SC sorc before the MFO starts. He's roughly 3/4 in to 91. I'm pleased to say that I've been able to make some good progress on the sorc. I've just finished up NM Anya quest and I'm currently grinding Pindle for some XP before I finish up NM and head straight to AT.

This is the first non HC PvM character I've played in probably 3-4 years and I must admit that it's been quite refreshing to not have to worry about death ending everything, especially on a sorc. I RIP'd one time very early on (I think I was clvl 7 in Tower and got amped and consequently 1 shot by a unique Archer) and once again at Normal Diablo when I tried to tank/finish him and he roasted me literally 1 Nova away from finishing.

I played CB for the first act, Nova for the rest of Normal, and then finally Blizzard for all of NM. I'll be Blizzard for quite a while or may even just stay Blizzard.

Quite lucky with first Spirit roll of the walk:

Progress Update

Code:

Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      92             No            -          -          many          ?
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      **             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      **             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      60             Yes           -          -            2           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
Kitteh        Darozzo         HC      Druid     45             No            -          -            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen

Code:

Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

NamelessPenguin · Oct 13, 2017

Trapin' said:
Hey guys! First time posting in this thread as the idea of it is interesting to me. I'm curious if there is a guide or some kind of run pattern you guys follow to most effeciently get to 99?

Did you mf a ton to gear up to be able to handle end game runs?

What do you run exactly for optimum xp?

Is it plausable for a non cookie cutter build to keep pace with others?

I don't know about a direct guide for 99, but I you search through the Lounge thread, you will see some replies for the same question I asked, with some really helpful answers. It's all there.

I think it depends on the non cookie cutter build. There are many weaker builds who you could make very powerful with the new access to high end runewords. Which build are you talking about?

If I were you, I would start a build I'm not used to playing, do some research, find out If you like it, and give it a go. I started an untwinked WW Barbarian, for the first time in 17 years, and he's tons of fun, and can be very powerful with the right gear.

What about a wind (or melee) Druid? There is only one 99 Druid, would be really cool to see another one.

Or an Holy Shock Paladin? He "only" (someone please correct me on this, If I'm off) requires Infinity, Cresent Moon, and Spirit runewords to really fry things. I don't know if 8 skillers is mandatory, or just nice. The lack of uber gear also makes this untwinked play fun and a challenge.

Or a zealot? Those could potentially be very dangerous. If not, then respec to Holy Shock

As for farming items and runes, you need the basics for any build you choose to go with. Mephisto can provide these, and LK provides the runes. But be prepared to do 4000-5000 runs (Harmony + Treachery for the win + a VERY good map), give or take, to obtain the optimal gear. Of course It depends on which build you go with (Sorc can get by with 0 runs). Look up Gripphon's Rune Finding guide for more info.

ffs · Oct 20, 2017

HelpYourself started running a bit again, staying hot regarding runes and now having collected the runes for Infinity.

View attachment 6600

Following the "complaining helps" rule on the other hand, no luck regarding bases still. Rolled an eth Great Poleaxe and an eth Thresher, which netted 5 and 3 sockets.

She now transitioned to farming /p7 and /p5 cows (not sure what is better) to look for a base, sometimes checking into LK to maybe get a stable rack for the base. She also found a nice 4os superior Scarab Husk which may serve as a base for CoH, and is one Ist away from another CtA looking to improve on the 3 BO one she currently uses, so LK is still in the picture.

Also, I decided to go with extended stash from now on. Just too much stuff she is currently looking for and picking up in order to transition to lightning. :/

Progress Update

Code:

Name          (C)            SC/HC    Class  Level/exp   Extended Stash  #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths  # of Hours
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
zticazzy      Perkele         SC      Barb      99             No            -          -            -           -
Pb_pal        Eleanor         SC      Sorc      99             No         3068        437            5           -
NanoMist      Izuna           SC      Sin       99             No         5109        470            4         360
PhineasB      Mercy           SC      Sin       99             Yes           -        475           11           -
Neksja        Aura            SC      Paladin   98.50          Yes        8606        464            -           -
T72on1        Neverland       SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes        2190+?      477           13         270?
PhineasB      Hiatus          SC      Sorc      98.25          Yes           -        457           21           -
hasuprotoss   Reina           SC      Sorc      97             Yes        1751        384            -           -
Tarantella    Tarasha         HC      Sorc      96             Yes           -          -            -           -
Grim          Furious_Blonde  SC      Ama       96             Yes           -          -            -           -
XyleneCyanol  Fishie          HC      Sorc      95             No            -          -            -           -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx     HC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
darkstarhub   Neptune         SC      Sorc      95             Yes           -          -            -           -
PhineasB      Phaedrus        SC      Pala      94             Yes           -        274           12           -
Reyz          Qty             SC      Sorc      93             No            -          -            -           -
ffs           HelpYourself    SC      Sorc      92             Yes           -          -          many          ?
Chaostar      Prairie         SC      Sorc      91             Yes         659        261           12         126
OldSoldier    Battleforge     HC      Pala      91             Yes           -        236            -           -
tokerdin      tokeress        SC      Sorc      91             yes           -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Ayura           SC      Barb      91             No            -          -            -           -
Southpaw      Njord           SC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Qwernt        CanbeOnlyBlizz  SC      Sorc      90             Yes           ?          -        Dont want to know
MercMan       Este            SC      Ama       90             Yes        1212        278            2  Classified
Me2Nik        Fugu            HC      Ama       90             Yes          80
Yng           Kyrie           HC      Druid     90             Yes           -          -            -           -
Lynchgrinch   Tattersail      SC      Sorc      89             Yes           ?        321         too many    lots
LiquidClear   Sally           SC      Assn      **             Yes         225          -            1           -
liquid_mage   zDadColdSorc    SC      Sorc      **             Yes           -        160            -           -
Neksja        Turirao         SC      Druid     87             Yes         191        124            5           -
Gladstone     Socrates        HC      Druid     86             ?             -          -            -           -
Zenigma       Gnosis          SC      Druid     86             No            -          -            -           -
Lord Molyb    Cruise_Control  SC      Necro     86             No          115         94           19         idk
Naturallog    Athos           HC      Barb      84             No          159        105            0           -
Lord Molyb    Verisimilitude  SC      Ama       83             No           28         25            0         idk
Qwernt        AmaAgainstAll   SC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          -            -           -
Gambit        Mallenroh       SC      Sorc      81             Yes           0          0            0           0
Lord Molyb    But_Why         SC      Sin       81             Never        55         51           53
Jean Avila    SpeedAdict      SC      Ama       77             No            -          -            -          50
logo          Digimon         HC      Nec       76             Yes          85         65            0           -
TwentyMule    Rayne           SC      Sorc      76             Yes         195        140            ?           ?
Gripphon      Ryu             SC      Sorc      76             Yes           -          -         over 9k       13
Darke Rahl    Bells           HC      Ama       74             No           19          -            0
Yng           Sophie          SC      Sorc      60             Yes           -          -            2           -
Vildecor      Celia           SC      Ama       59             Yes          52         43            0           -
ioupainmax    Durnik          SC      Paladin   52             Yes          50         42            -           -
Kitteh        Darozzo         HC      Druid     45             No            -          -            -           -
TrU           Henryk          SC      Barb      41             Yes           -          -           22          12
Gambit        Colossus        SC      Pal       39             Yes           0          0            0           0
Smancer       Smancer         SC      Necro     26             Yes           1          -            -           -
Ergroilnin    Erilinda        HC      Sorc      20             No            -          -            -           -
hackedagainanda Hugo          HC      Barb      16             Yes           -          -            -           -

The Fallen

Code:

Name (F)    Name (C)       SC/HC   Class   Level/exp   Extended Stash   #of S/U   Grail/504   #of deaths   # of Hours
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
coju        NintyNine_orRiP HC      Sorc      81             Yes           -          0            0         a few
TwentyMule  Valus           HC      Barb      76             Yes           -          -            1           -
Pb_pal      Stevesy         HC      Paladin   76             Yes           -          -            0           -
Tenecabo    OldShatterhand  HC      Druid     49             Yes           -          0            1           -
coju        fB              HC      Sorc      29             Yes           1          1            0           2
Kitteh      Verallus        HC      Druid     26             No          N/A        N/A            0          N/A
logo        Rolex           HC      Barb      21             Yes           0          0            0           1

T72on1 · Oct 20, 2017

Go for /p5 cows. So much more relaxed to run, and I think some tests by Gripphon pointed out that the difference in return is minimal.

ffs · Oct 20, 2017

Yet another proof that complaining works: I figured racking would be faster even though annoying as hell, and indeed about an hour after my last post I found a rack I could force a CV from every time (after killing my Merc off). 20 minutes in I got a eth 4os one. Say hello to the sexiest Infinity in town:

View attachment 6601

Sub-optimal base, terrible roll… I guess it actually could have been better to make it in a non-eth Thresher.

Anyway, it is an Infinity -- that's all that matters. And I got it just in time, since apparently I killed the Cow King in the last cow run LOL, didn't even notice. I'm so pro running Cows with Blizzy. Well I guess I don't have any reason to visit cows with this char from now anyway on so that's fine.

Of course I immediately respeced to Lightning, and even though I have a serious lack in + skill gear (rings, skillers) the damage with Infinity + Griffon's is actually totally fine. Since Blizzard is so OP I expected a setback still. As an aside, I ran the numbers on the weapons question, in particular Hoto vs Crescent Moon. Result was that while Hoto slightly comes out on top vs low LR mobs, CM is so much higher damage vs LIs broken by Infinity it's not even funny and really surprised me. In my case it's around 50% based on my gear (which - granted - doesn't include stuff like SoJs you could swap in with Hoto), so of course running CM now.

So what’s next? I think HelpYourself is making good progress, but is not quite ready yet to transition to pure XP grinding. She will continue running LK for now, looking for runes for (1) CtA, in order to improve on her +3 BO one, (2) CoH for herself and (3) either CoH or Fortitude for Merc. She will also use all gems, with the help of LK shrines, to roll GCs in hopes of finding lightning skillers. The only other thing I really would like to have is SoJ/BK or a facet, which of course don’t drop in LK, but don’t think it makes sense to run Andy/Meph in the slim hopes of finding these. So once the runewords are reasonably taken care of, she will get to the serious business!

Yng · Oct 20, 2017

CM is pretty underrated. In concept, you have to think LIs are the mobs that are going to slow you down the most and because of the way -resistance is applied to breaking immunities even if you break them they're still going to have high LR.

Personally I wouldn't use 2 Bers on a CV but it's nice nonetheless, kudos.

E: I have some updates for this as well, as soon as I get time to actually post them..

Nano · Oct 21, 2017

Congrats on the Infinity, it's a great milestone on this journey.

Is CV Infinity really all that bad? I 'settled' for an eth CV as well, but knowing that I'll have 35% IAS coming from a jeweled Andariel's Visage, I knew the merc attack rate wouldn't be too far behind a thresher variant. I see a mask in that screenshot, which I assume is Andariel's, so my use case should apply.

Reading this thread, A2 mercs have 12/13 FPJ/FPA with 35% IAS CV, and 11/11 FPJ/FPA with 35% IAS Thresher. A2 mercs heavily favor jab, with a 85% jab frequency at clvl 93+. Weighing 85% jab and 15% normal attack, A2 mercs attack, on average, about 10% faster with the thresher for faster CB application and aura activation. However, CV's, with its higher base damage, will provide 8% greater DPS overall (and consequently better life steal too).

If the merc is using a 0 IAS setup, then it would be more favorable toward the -10 WSM polearms. I suppose in the end it didn't matter, since for our purposes, the A2 merc is just a tank and walking aura for the most part.

Yng · Oct 21, 2017

NanoMist said:
Congrats on the Infinity, it's a great milestone on this journey.

Is CV Infinity really all that bad? I 'settled' for an eth CV as well, but knowing that I'll have 35% IAS coming from a jeweled Andariel's Visage, I knew the merc attack rate wouldn't be too far behind a thresher variant. I see a mask in that screenshot, which I assume is Andariel's, so my use case should apply.

Reading this thread, A2 mercs have 12/13 FPJ/FPA with 35% IAS CV, and 11/11 FPJ/FPA with 35% IAS Thresher. A2 mercs heavily favor jab, with a 85% jab frequency at clvl 93+. Weighing 85% jab and 15% normal attack, A2 mercs attack, on average, about 10% faster with the thresher for faster CB application and aura activation. However, CV's, with its higher base damage, will provide 8% greater DPS overall (and consequently better life steal too).

If the merc is using a 0 IAS setup, then it would be more favorable toward the -10 WSM polearms. I suppose in the end it didn't matter, since for our purposes, the A2 merc is just a tank and walking aura for the most part.

IIRC the aura they come with based on which you chose activates on attack, so having faster attack speed procs your Might/Holy Freeze faster. Also, Infinity has CB which is going to be his biggest source of damage vs LI and for characters that don't have Static Field when killing bosses so you will get more CB procs with faster attack speed.

It's not that an Eth CV isn't a good base, it's that there are better bases and Bers are a relatively finite resource for an untwinked character.

E: Infinity - 0 IAS
Andariel's socketed 15 IAS Jewel - 35 IAS
Treachery - 45 IAS

CV - 5.5 FPA Jab
GPA - 5 FPA Jab
Thresher/Giant Thresher - 4.5 FPA Jab

Nano · Oct 21, 2017

Yes, I recognized the faster CB application and aura activation, but the case I was making is that an eth CV is quite close to the faster polearms using a common merc setup of Andariel's Visage and Fortitude/CoH, which is what ffs is also going for (I did not include Treachery setup because ffs did not mention it). A 4 socket eth Thresher/GT can take quite a long time to find, especially if you're unlucky with the socket recipe. Of course I would have preferred the eth Thresher/GT or even a GPA, but when the time spent farming that polearm base is creeping close to the time it takes to farm 2 Ber runes, it's time to move on. I wasn't fortunate enough to find a proper base along the way, so I instead saved my energy for the exp. grind.

ffs · Oct 21, 2017

OMG I wasted 2 Bers?

Yeah as I said in response to @grim above on this topic I think any eth elite polearm is absolutely fine imo as the advantages of faster polearms are marginal. We're talking about Infinity which to an extent of 99% is just about Conviction. Regarding CB triggering, basically the only situation where a faster base might be noticeable is against unbreakable LI bosses on high player settings, and even then that's somewhat made up for by CVs higher damage and consistent leech. Aura triggering is somewhat slower on average but again the difference is small and I couldn't care less tbh.

I do value Tresher/GT higher than CV, but just by a hair. It's a "perfection" thing and CV is totally justifiable especially untwinked and given the fact that good bases are actually not that easy to come by, as @NanoMist pointed out.

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

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