The Untwinked Level 99 Progress Thread, Revenge of the 99ers
- Thread starter Kitteh1
- Start date
@PhineasB Very nice, I hope you'll navigate her through safely before the end of the year, I'll save some fire works for her final ding! Those drops are not too shabby either, makes me look forward to running Nihl. Chances of me hitting 98 before January are very slim though, especially since I'm having a hard time finding the motivation for extended stretches of Baal runs at the moment.
On the issue of aborting Nihl runs, I was also wondering whether it makes sense in my case to use CM again and not abort if Nihl spawns LI. Based on her Hoto vs CM numbers (shared here), non-LI Nihl should drop some 20% faster with Hoto, whereas with CM I would likely finish the runs where he spawns LI except for some ugly spawns. In other words, if he spawns LI more frequently than once every five runs, it will be worth taking a closer look at XP gain with the different setups. From what you're saying that seems to be the case... unfortunately, more testing to do.
Oh and I have another question for Nihl runners (@T72on1 looking at you also
) - are you running with integer damage reduction gear? I'm not experienced at all when it comes to running him, so I wonder how important that stat is, i.e. whether I should be gambling ammies already. I guess Nature's Peace makes sense to use in any case, but other than that I was not planning on shuffling around too much.
On the issue of aborting Nihl runs, I was also wondering whether it makes sense in my case to use CM again and not abort if Nihl spawns LI. Based on her Hoto vs CM numbers (shared here), non-LI Nihl should drop some 20% faster with Hoto, whereas with CM I would likely finish the runs where he spawns LI except for some ugly spawns. In other words, if he spawns LI more frequently than once every five runs, it will be worth taking a closer look at XP gain with the different setups. From what you're saying that seems to be the case... unfortunately, more testing to do.
Oh and I have another question for Nihl runners (@T72on1 looking at you also
) - are you running with integer damage reduction gear? I'm not experienced at all when it comes to running him, so I wonder how important that stat is, i.e. whether I should be gambling ammies already. I guess Nature's Peace makes sense to use in any case, but other than that I was not planning on shuffling around too much.On drops from Nihl: keeping a more positive spin is definitely a good idea, but nearing 100 hours in, the optimism is wearing off a bit for me.
The Jah is obviously very nice. But the comment about slight disappointment comes from the place of the nearly 40M XP of runs that netted nothing higher than a Pul. In context, that’s about 1750 runs (plus another 200 or so that I’d estimate as aborted runs), prior to those last 5M XP (or about 220 runs) that had very nice drops.
Or as @NanoMist noted in his 99er write up:
So the drops definitely come due to volume. I was just hoping for drops that would be more useful for my overall grail or the grail for Hiatus, plus more luck on the Vex+ rune front. She kills many of Nihl's minions (not as thoroughly as the two trappers), but is only at 7 Vex+ runes with the Jah, or on pace for 9-10 if she went all the way to 99 from Nihl runs.
But I think the best perspective, if you can keep it, is that drops are a side benefit to the fastest way to level to 99.
To the other questions, I definitely think CM could be worth it for HelpYourself. The frequency of LI is not 1-in-5. There are stretches where it is more frequent, but they’re offset by some stretches of 20+ runs without. I looked it up when Hiatus was starting Nihl, and have 1-in-11 in my head (but am not sure).
For these runs, much of the time is getting to Nihl’s platform and S&E time. So aborted runs really hurt the average. Assuming a second slower per run for non LI Nihl, over 10,000 runs, that’s a lot of seconds! But it may be offset for not having “wasted” runs that can be 15-20 seconds when you abort, as long as you factor in how much longer it takes to kill an LI Nihl with CM.
Hiatus didn’t have Griffon’s and had to sacrifice too much keep 117 FCR. So it was never going to work for her. But I think CM may work better with the right gear. I look forward to your results from testing!
As to integer damage, Mercy didn’t have any, and Hiatus has it only from Nature’s Peace. The risk of death comes from really nasty mod combos that happen in a blink. I don’t think iDR would neutralize the damage, and instead would give another split second for S&E. That definitely could make a difference, but I didn’t view it as essential (especially when it would mean spending time to accumulate the necessary gear).
The Jah is obviously very nice. But the comment about slight disappointment comes from the place of the nearly 40M XP of runs that netted nothing higher than a Pul. In context, that’s about 1750 runs (plus another 200 or so that I’d estimate as aborted runs), prior to those last 5M XP (or about 220 runs) that had very nice drops.
Or as @NanoMist noted in his 99er write up:
Builds that take out Nihl’s minions fare much better on the rune front (and, I think, the item drop front, because quite some of nicer items for Hiatus are item level 84). This is illustrated in the runehaul of Vex+ for Nano’s Izuna, and the same for Mercy. As you’ll see, it’s 15 and 14, respectively, with Izuna getting better Ber+ drops relative to Mercy. Compared to 4 Vex+ runes for @Pb_pal ’s Eleanor, who was Blova and killed only Nihl (I think).
So the drops definitely come due to volume. I was just hoping for drops that would be more useful for my overall grail or the grail for Hiatus, plus more luck on the Vex+ rune front. She kills many of Nihl's minions (not as thoroughly as the two trappers), but is only at 7 Vex+ runes with the Jah, or on pace for 9-10 if she went all the way to 99 from Nihl runs.
But I think the best perspective, if you can keep it, is that drops are a side benefit to the fastest way to level to 99.
To the other questions, I definitely think CM could be worth it for HelpYourself. The frequency of LI is not 1-in-5. There are stretches where it is more frequent, but they’re offset by some stretches of 20+ runs without. I looked it up when Hiatus was starting Nihl, and have 1-in-11 in my head (but am not sure).
For these runs, much of the time is getting to Nihl’s platform and S&E time. So aborted runs really hurt the average. Assuming a second slower per run for non LI Nihl, over 10,000 runs, that’s a lot of seconds! But it may be offset for not having “wasted” runs that can be 15-20 seconds when you abort, as long as you factor in how much longer it takes to kill an LI Nihl with CM.
Hiatus didn’t have Griffon’s and had to sacrifice too much keep 117 FCR. So it was never going to work for her. But I think CM may work better with the right gear. I look forward to your results from testing!
As to integer damage, Mercy didn’t have any, and Hiatus has it only from Nature’s Peace. The risk of death comes from really nasty mod combos that happen in a blink. I don’t think iDR would neutralize the damage, and instead would give another split second for S&E. That definitely could make a difference, but I didn’t view it as essential (especially when it would mean spending time to accumulate the necessary gear).
Acala the Pure Vita Barbarian continues to trudge onward, and now with progression!
When last we left Acala, he was running Nightmare Mephisto. Over and over and over and over again. Desperate for damage, Acala created two Strength runeword axes to get some of that sweet sweet crushing blow. As the levels moved into and through the 60's, it seemed like there would never be axe drops. Then finally an axe drop. Islestrike, 171% ED.
Not what I was looking for, but having two of these in reserve might be ok as high damage replacements for the Strength runwords. However the problem is the runeword gives 20 strength, Islestrike 10 strength. Losing 20 strength across two Islestrikes means a more difficult time reaching enough strength for Skullders, which is what I would want to be wearing for MF bosses. Gah!
There are some items that could potentially take me all the way to end game, and I listed some in the previous post. One of those items did drop for me.... A String of Ears! Unfortunately it is only 12% DR so the bad luck on the rolls continues.
Then, finally, after what felt like an interminably long time it happened. An axe I've been looking for. An axe that can lead me out of Nightmare and to Hell. A Butcher's Pupil!
And of course it rolls 156% ED because I can't have nice things lol...
It was all downhill from there. I eventually snagged another Butcher's Pupil (169%ED) and a second Islestrike, so now I have the 4 axes that will easily take me into Hell. In fact, after the second Butcher's dropped I took off into Act 4 and everything was melting to my Frenzied blades. Granted I am on p1, but still after struggling to kill anything it's fun to watch things die so quickly again. Because of the strength issues though, the Strength Runeword axes are still likely to be the first choice over the Islestrikes, until I can sort out how to keep strength high enough for everything. But as of this post I'm just outside Nightmare Diablo, who I expect to die quite easily, and I'll soon move onwards to Act 5 where I anticipate Pindle et al. will take me to 75.
Not much else to report on drops, but I did get a two decent things...
A 30% Nagelring...
And an Ethereal Shaftstop (edit: I didn't even notice that it's perfect lol)...
Pertinent stats
Current level: 68
Current Strength (base + charms + gear): 85 (In PvE, non MF gear)
Current Life (With BO): 3309
Strength from 24 slots of charms: 33
Table Update
The Fallen
When last we left Acala, he was running Nightmare Mephisto. Over and over and over and over again. Desperate for damage, Acala created two Strength runeword axes to get some of that sweet sweet crushing blow. As the levels moved into and through the 60's, it seemed like there would never be axe drops. Then finally an axe drop. Islestrike, 171% ED.
Not what I was looking for, but having two of these in reserve might be ok as high damage replacements for the Strength runwords. However the problem is the runeword gives 20 strength, Islestrike 10 strength. Losing 20 strength across two Islestrikes means a more difficult time reaching enough strength for Skullders, which is what I would want to be wearing for MF bosses. Gah!
There are some items that could potentially take me all the way to end game, and I listed some in the previous post. One of those items did drop for me.... A String of Ears! Unfortunately it is only 12% DR so the bad luck on the rolls continues.
Then, finally, after what felt like an interminably long time it happened. An axe I've been looking for. An axe that can lead me out of Nightmare and to Hell. A Butcher's Pupil!
And of course it rolls 156% ED because I can't have nice things lol...
It was all downhill from there. I eventually snagged another Butcher's Pupil (169%ED) and a second Islestrike, so now I have the 4 axes that will easily take me into Hell. In fact, after the second Butcher's dropped I took off into Act 4 and everything was melting to my Frenzied blades. Granted I am on p1, but still after struggling to kill anything it's fun to watch things die so quickly again. Because of the strength issues though, the Strength Runeword axes are still likely to be the first choice over the Islestrikes, until I can sort out how to keep strength high enough for everything. But as of this post I'm just outside Nightmare Diablo, who I expect to die quite easily, and I'll soon move onwards to Act 5 where I anticipate Pindle et al. will take me to 75.
Not much else to report on drops, but I did get a two decent things...
A 30% Nagelring...
And an Ethereal Shaftstop (edit: I didn't even notice that it's perfect lol)...
Pertinent stats
Current level: 68
Current Strength (base + charms + gear): 85 (In PvE, non MF gear)
Current Life (With BO): 3309
Strength from 24 slots of charms: 33
Table 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 -
PhineasB Hiatus SC Sorc 98.75 Yes - 471 21 -
Neksja Aura SC Paladin 98.50 Yes 8606 464 - -
T72on1 Neverland SC Sorc 98.25 Yes 2190+? 477 13 270?
hasuprotoss Reina SC Sorc 97 Yes 1751 384 - -
ffs HelpYourself SC Sorc 97 Yes - - many ?
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 - - - -
Dezrok Salome SC Sorc 95 Yes 792 318 - -
Yng Sophie SC Sorc 95 Yes - - 7 -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky SC Barb 95 No - - - -
PhineasB Phaedrus SC Pala 94 Yes - 274 12 -
Reyz Qty SC Sorc 93 No - - - -
Gynli Amazon SC Amazon 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
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
hackedagain Hugo HC Necro 85 Yes - - -
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
ffs Ric SC Nec 76 Yes - - - -
Darke Rahl Bells HC Ama 74 No 19 - 0
aarrgus Acala SC Barb 68 Yes - - 1 -
Vildecor Celia SC Ama 59 Yes 52 43 0 -
Xul's Gull Araphel HC Necro 54 No ? N/A - -
ioupainmax Durnik SC Paladin 52 Yes 50 42 - -
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 - - -
BKC FearsomeFreddie SC Nec 23 Yes - - - -
Ergroilnin Erilinda HC Sorc 20 No - - - -
Kitteh Kaylin SC Ama 19 Yes - - 0 -
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
Last edited:
@PhineasB Lot's of good info in that post and thanks for the mention!
To expand on the LI topic:
Nihlathak's base resistance in Hell (FR/LR/CR/PR) are 33/33/70/70, and he can get two additional mods.
LE, Magic Resistant, and Spectral Hit are 3 of 11 mods that can boost the lightning resistance. (I don't think Nihla can get Multishot)
Any combination with LE first will result in LI but breakable by Infinity.
Any combination with LE second will also result in LI but breakable by Infinity, unless the first mod is MR or SH, then it is an unbreakable LI.
If I did the math right, that's 18/110 chance of Infinity breakable LI, and 2/110 chance of unbreakable LI.
I had a Sol rune in the Shako, but that was hoping the extra split second would matter. Not sure if it did TBH.
To expand on the LI topic:
Nihlathak's base resistance in Hell (FR/LR/CR/PR) are 33/33/70/70, and he can get two additional mods.
LE, Magic Resistant, and Spectral Hit are 3 of 11 mods that can boost the lightning resistance. (I don't think Nihla can get Multishot)
Any combination with LE first will result in LI but breakable by Infinity.
Any combination with LE second will also result in LI but breakable by Infinity, unless the first mod is MR or SH, then it is an unbreakable LI.
If I did the math right, that's 18/110 chance of Infinity breakable LI, and 2/110 chance of unbreakable LI.
I had a Sol rune in the Shako, but that was hoping the extra split second would matter. Not sure if it did TBH.
@PhineasB and @NanoMist thanks, that's very helpful! I've begun pushing her a little bit again, so might finish 98 this year after all and put that information to good use soon. Regarding CM vs Hoto @PhineasB you're totally right, I don't know what led me to that embarrassingly wrong 1/5 conclusion haha. Of course an aborted run is nowhere nearly made up for by five runs in which Nihl goes down some 20% quicker (as opposed to runs being that much quicker). So yeah if it turns out to be feasible to continuously push through broken LI runs with CM, based on @NanoMist's numbers that will be quite clearly better. It would mean less survivability in comparison to the Hoto setup though (no 86% FHR BP, less life, less + skills) so I'll have to see which feels more comfortable overall.
Regarding integer damage reduction, I'm not going to Hel out the 5/5 facet in Griffon's obviously, so Sol is not an option. But I guess I won't be gambling for an ammy either based on your experiences.
On a side note though, I don't seem to be having that S&E issue at all for Nihl runs. Maybe that's the one advantage of playing on a Mac?
Regarding CM vs Hoto @PhineasB you're totally right, I don't know what led me to that embarrassingly wrong 1/5 conclusion haha. Of course an aborted run is nowhere nearly made up for by five runs in which Nihl goes down some 20% quicker (as opposed to runs being that much quicker). So yeah if it turns out to be feasible to continuously push through broken LI runs with CM, based on @NanoMist's numbers that will be quite clearly better. It would mean less survivability in comparison to the Hoto setup though (no 86% FHR BP, less life, less + skills) so I'll have to see which feels more comfortable overall.Regarding integer damage reduction, I'm not going to Hel out the 5/5 facet in Griffon's obviously, so Sol is not an option. But I guess I won't be gambling for an ammy either based on your experiences.
On a side note though, I don't seem to be having that S&E issue at all for Nihl runs. Maybe that's the one advantage of playing on a Mac?
Champion Hiatus and Zanarhi the HF Desert Merc, Lvl 99
View attachment 7537
Hiatus made it! Smooth sailing, aside from the one NDE posted in the quest for 99 thread while teleporting from the WP. The only drop worth a screenshot was a second Griz Caduceus. She found an Um and a Pul on successive runs and a 30 life Captain’s skiller, but otherwise little else to show for this tenth+ of the level.
Runes found from Nihl (she picked up Ko+):
Much worse rune drops for Hiatus compared to Mercy, even accounting for only 85% of the total runs for the level due to Ancients XP. No matter, the main thing is that she made it!
I’ll try to post a 99er write up in the next couple days. Merry Christmas!
* * *
Table Update
The Fallen
View attachment 7537
Hiatus made it!
Smooth sailing, aside from the one NDE posted in the quest for 99 thread while teleporting from the WP. The only drop worth a screenshot was a second Griz Caduceus. She found an Um and a Pul on successive runs and a 30 life Captain’s skiller, but otherwise little else to show for this tenth+ of the level.Runes found from Nihl (she picked up Ko+):
Code:
17 Ko Rune
13 Fal Rune
3 Lem Rune
4 Pul Rune
4 Um Rune
7 Mal Rune
2 Ist Rune
5 Gul Rune
0 Vex Rune
4 Ohm Rune
1 Lo Rune
0 Sur Rune
1 Ber Rune
1 Jah Rune
0 Cham Rune
0 Zod RuneI’ll try to post a 99er write up in the next couple days. Merry Christmas!
* * *
Table 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 -
PhineasB Hiatus SC Sorc 99 Yes - 471 21 -
Neksja Aura SC Paladin 98.50 Yes 8606 464 - -
T72on1 Neverland SC Sorc 98.25 Yes 2190+? 477 13 270?
hasuprotoss Reina SC Sorc 97 Yes 1751 384 - -
ffs HelpYourself SC Sorc 97 Yes - - many ?
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 - - - -
Dezrok Salome SC Sorc 95 Yes 792 318 - -
Yng Sophie SC Sorc 95 Yes - - 7 -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky SC Barb 95 No - - - -
PhineasB Phaedrus SC Pala 94 Yes - 274 12 -
Reyz Qty SC Sorc 93 No - - - -
Gynli Amazon SC Amazon 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
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
hackedagain Hugo HC Necro 85 Yes - - -
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
ffs Ric SC Nec 76 Yes - - - -
Darke Rahl Bells HC Ama 74 No 19 - 0
aarrgus Acala SC Barb 68 Yes - - 1 -
Vildecor Celia SC Ama 59 Yes 52 43 0 -
Xul's Gull Araphel HC Necro 54 No ? N/A - -
ioupainmax Durnik SC Paladin 52 Yes 50 42 - -
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 - - -
BKC FearsomeFreddie SC Nec 23 Yes - - - -
Ergroilnin Erilinda HC Sorc 20 No - - - -
Kitteh Kaylin SC Ama 19 Yes - - 0 -
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 1darkstarhub
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Job well done. Guess Hiatus didn't take much of a vacation after all.
Job well done. Guess Hiatus didn't take much of a vacation after all.I can't quite yet hold a candle to some of the great posts above, but I'm long overdue for an update. I basically stopped playing for over half a year, but I was thinking about D2 the other day and got drawn back in. I quit playing shortly after landing some of my end-game gear on Ayura, the throwbarb. Namely, those items would be Highlords Wrath and Ravenfrost. If memory serves me right, both of them came courtesy of Hell Andy. I returned to act 5 to run Pindle for a while before dropping off. I also remember that when I hit 91, Ayura became my highest level character to date in my D2 tenure.
Now, onto the present. I am proud to announce that Ayura has reached level 92. All the while looking for some upgrades to his current gear. Between now and wherever I end up taking him, those will most likely be in the form of weapon upgrades and charm upgrades (but there's always room for improvement in the for of rare and crafted rings, too). I feel really bad about some of the charms and weapons I've muled off, because I would so gladly be using some of them right now :x That said, I still have a long journey ahead of me so I'm feeling pretty good on the prospect of finding some high-class charms.
I'm hoping that a particular find this morning is indicative of a trend in drops to come:
My first unique elite thrower. Roughly equivalent to the offhand weapon I was using at the time, but considering the reaper's toll on the merc, the life leech gained from its use outweighs the amp damage lost. Sadly, it provides less physical damage, but demon's arch has a respectable bit of elemental damage to make up for it. Now come on, Warshrike! I wouldn't mind picking up a stack of those so I can reliably pierce
I also picked this up (see below). I've upped it once; just waiting on a fal rune to pop up so I may upgrade it a second time. This will likely be my offhand for a while once upgraded due to its tremendous damage. 243 ed isn't even that much, but ghost glaives have such a ridiculously high base throwing damage, compared to other throwing weapons, that it should outclass the damage of most other weapons I'm going to find for a while. The ml on it will also allow me to swap out my dual leech ring for something with more ll. I'll also be losing some resists in the switch, but I have res charms stashed so I could swap charms as necessary to keep the important resistances maxed.
For the record, that's actually more damage than other weapon I have on this guy. The only reason why it's complete garbage right now is because Blizzard hates me and they made the spiculum max stack set to 20. It's somewhat annoying.
I'm keeping it varied, hitting up Pindle, Council, and Meph regularly. There are also some 85s in act 3 that I can clear easily without having to go to blacksmith, so that's on the table, too.
Things are looking good.
Table Update
The Fallen
Edit: Happy Holidays, SPF
Now, onto the present. I am proud to announce that Ayura has reached level 92. All the while looking for some upgrades to his current gear. Between now and wherever I end up taking him, those will most likely be in the form of weapon upgrades and charm upgrades (but there's always room for improvement in the for of rare and crafted rings, too). I feel really bad about some of the charms and weapons I've muled off, because I would so gladly be using some of them right now :x That said, I still have a long journey ahead of me so I'm feeling pretty good on the prospect of finding some high-class charms.
I'm hoping that a particular find this morning is indicative of a trend in drops to come:
My first unique elite thrower. Roughly equivalent to the offhand weapon I was using at the time, but considering the reaper's toll on the merc, the life leech gained from its use outweighs the amp damage lost. Sadly, it provides less physical damage, but demon's arch has a respectable bit of elemental damage to make up for it. Now come on, Warshrike! I wouldn't mind picking up a stack of those so I can reliably pierce
I also picked this up (see below). I've upped it once; just waiting on a fal rune to pop up so I may upgrade it a second time. This will likely be my offhand for a while once upgraded due to its tremendous damage. 243 ed isn't even that much, but ghost glaives have such a ridiculously high base throwing damage, compared to other throwing weapons, that it should outclass the damage of most other weapons I'm going to find for a while. The ml on it will also allow me to swap out my dual leech ring for something with more ll. I'll also be losing some resists in the switch, but I have res charms stashed so I could swap charms as necessary to keep the important resistances maxed.
Code:
Cruel Flight
Spiculum
Throw Damage: 118 - 205
One Hand Damage: 53 - 130
Quantity: 20
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 98
Required Dexterity: 73
Fingerprint: 0x832b2270
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
243% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
+194 to Attack Rating
Adds 6 - 19 Fire Damage
6% Mana stolen per hit
Required Level +5For the record, that's actually more damage than other weapon I have on this guy. The only reason why it's complete garbage right now is because Blizzard hates me and they made the spiculum max stack set to 20. It's somewhat annoying.
I'm keeping it varied, hitting up Pindle, Council, and Meph regularly. There are also some 85s in act 3 that I can clear easily without having to go to blacksmith, so that's on the table, too.
Things are looking good.
Table 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 -
PhineasB Hiatus SC Sorc 99 Yes - 471 21 -
Neksja Aura SC Paladin 98.50 Yes 8606 464 - -
T72on1 Neverland SC Sorc 98.25 Yes 2190+? 477 13 270?
hasuprotoss Reina SC Sorc 97 Yes 1751 384 - -
ffs HelpYourself SC Sorc 97 Yes - - many ?
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 - - - -
Dezrok Salome SC Sorc 95 Yes 792 318 - -
Yng Sophie SC Sorc 95 Yes - - 7 -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky SC Barb 95 No - - - -
PhineasB Phaedrus SC Pala 94 Yes - 274 12 -
Reyz Qty SC Sorc 93 No - - - -
Gynli Amazon SC Amazon 92 Yes - - many -
Zenigma Ayura SC Barb 92 No - - - -
Chaostar Prairie SC Sorc 91 Yes 659 261 12 126
OldSoldier Battleforge HC Pala 91 Yes - 236 - -
tokerdin tokeress SC Sorc 91 yes - - - -
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
hackedagain Hugo HC Necro 85 Yes - - -
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
ffs Ric SC Nec 76 Yes - - - -
Darke Rahl Bells HC Ama 74 No 19 - 0
aarrgus Acala SC Barb 68 Yes - - 1 -
Vildecor Celia SC Ama 59 Yes 52 43 0 -
Xul's Gull Araphel HC Necro 54 No ? N/A - -
ioupainmax Durnik SC Paladin 52 Yes 50 42 - -
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 - - -
BKC FearsomeFreddie SC Nec 23 Yes - - - -
Ergroilnin Erilinda HC Sorc 20 No - - - -
Kitteh Kaylin SC Ama 19 Yes - - 0 -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 1Edit: Happy Holidays, SPF
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As a minor update, between all that eating with my family I managed to do a bit of running, hitting the 3.2b mark today:
View attachment 7542
Obviously a more significant milestone is just ahead and I'll post a bigger update when it's done, even though drops weren't too great since the 97.50 mark unfortunately... I'll have to go to work again tomorrow till Friday and prepare for hosting a new year's party at my place, so we'll see whether I'll manage to hit 98 before 2018. But it's down to ~5 hours so it should definitely be possible.
Merry Christmas everyone!
View attachment 7542
Obviously a more significant milestone is just ahead and I'll post a bigger update when it's done, even though drops weren't too great since the 97.50 mark unfortunately...
I'll have to go to work again tomorrow till Friday and prepare for hosting a new year's party at my place, so we'll see whether I'll manage to hit 98 before 2018. But it's down to ~5 hours so it should definitely be possible.Merry Christmas everyone!
Quick update, I've been really busy with the holidays. Few days off then back to spending all day at work.
I'm about 60m from 96 (around 3 hours). Wanting to try Fortnite and need to catch up on some cleaning but I think I'll be able to ding sometime today or tomorrow.
Some finds:
I'm about 60m from 96 (around 3 hours). Wanting to try Fortnite and need to catch up on some cleaning but I think I'll be able to ding sometime today or tomorrow.
Some finds:
These were actually 40 MF, going to Pit Barb:
