The Untwinked Level 99 Progress Thread, The Saviours of Sanctuary Rise Anew

OK, time for a major update. I now have three characters entered - my lvl 87 Summoner Jin-qua and lvl 85 Fanatic Zealadin Dirk Struan (who were already there, but are now updated) are now joined by my lvl 86 Frostmaiden May-may. Nothing of note to report for Jin-qua, so on to the other two:

Dirk Struan - lvl 85 Fanatic Zealadin
Since my last update, he has moved up from 76 to 85 by questing through Hell to Act V, where he has completed the rescue of Anya quest. From there, a ton of Pits runs as well as 1,000 LK runs in search of a Vex run so he could make himself a Death Berserker Axe. To make a long story short, all my hideous luck in LK runs of the past (near 4,000 in total) must have been for a reason, because Dirk had quite the 1,000 run stretch indeed. Of note:

Hellforge - Fal
1 - Gul
119 - Sur (my first ever!!!!)
220 - Pul
263 - Um
373 - Ohm
406 - Ohm
419 - Um (from a nearby corpse)
460 - Ber (my first ever!!!!)
477 - Sur
647 - Gul
664 - Mal
973 - Mal

DS - LK - Ber Rune.png

Crazy good stretch, but no Vex rune. Then fate stepped in on run 996, as the following popped out of a chest by one of the armor racks:

DS - LK - Lo Rune.png


So I was left with a choice - keep plugging away for a Vex rune or one more Gul rune and use the Lo for Fortitude, or create my very first Grief PB? I chose the latter, as I need Treachery armor and its 45% IAS to hit the final Zeal breakpoint of 4 fpa.

Current gear:
Grief Phase Blade (+348 roll for damage)
Treachery Wire Fleece
Rockstopper
Crafted Ammy - 9% R/W, 6% LL, +30 Life, 0/0/28/16 resists
Rhyme Akaran Targe (my only source of CBF)
Laying of Hands
Tearhaunch
2 x rare rings with misc. stats

Merc:
Tal's helm
Treachery Loricated Mail (ethereal)
Insight Thresher

I'd like to find a Ravenfrost so as to swap out the shield with an Exile, using the runes I've found above. Or do you all maybe see some better use for that rune haul? Two Surs and a Ber would be just lovely for an Infinity, but a Fanatic Zealot has no real use for that, right?

Anyway, onto my Frostmaiden, who I've been playing as my main character for awhile now:

May-may - lvl 86 Frostmaiden
May-may has also progressed through to Hell Anya. She used the usual Stealth armor for a long time, until I switched to Smoke for Hell. Used a Zephyr Bow until I had runes for Edge, then Edge until I had runes and a Double Bow base for Harmony, which is what she currently still uses. It was a struggle keeping my Might merc alive through hell, as I just could not find a helm with leech in it at all. I spent a painful little while trying to mine The Mausoleum until I was strong enough to take down Andariel and progress to the Ancient Tunnels for a bunch of runs. It was there where my first significant find occurred:

MM - Mara's Unid - Ancient Tunnels.png

MM - Mara's - Ancient Tunnels.png

Eventually, she also started some LK runs, of which she's completed 635:

Hellforge - Pul
63 - Um
82 - Lycander's Aim (which I accidently lost in a crafting session :cautious: )
263 - Mal
333 - Tal's Mask (FINALLY for merc)
364 - Sur
493 - Ist
634 - Ber!!!! (and an ethereal Goldskin)

MM - Run #634 - Ber Rune.png

Current gear:
Harmony Double Bow
Smoke Ghost Armor
Mara's
Rare Coronet - 30% R/W, +12 Dex, +35 Life, 19/19/19/19 resists
Silkweave
2 x Rare rings
Rare gloves (no + Bow skills or IAS)

Merc:
Tal's helm
Treachery Mage Plate
Insight Thresher (ethereal)

I have two big questions for May-may that I'm hoping you folks can help answer:
-since a Might merc doesn't really help a Frostmaiden at all (other than keeping himself alive for my benefit), am I better to try the new Act 5 Frenzy merc instead?
-she has a Ber and a Sur - I'd love to drop the Smoke for a Chains of Honor as I'm lacking in any + skills other than the Mara's, but am I better off trying to continue grinding for a second Ber or Sur, keep the Might merc, and eventually hopefully equip him with Infinity? I've never had Infinity before, so I'm not sure how much it helps Freezing Arrow out? Or do I really continue grinding in hopes of getting the runes for an Ice bow?



Hall of Fame
Rich (BB code):
Forumite         Character        SC/HC  Class  Level  Exp   Date        E/S  S/U   Grail  Deaths  Hours  D2/D2R
---------------  ---------------  -----  -----  -----  ----  ----------  ---  ----  -----  ------  -----  ------
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       -      -
Jpy              Sophie           SC     Sorc   99     3.52  2018-08-26  Yes     -      -      10   <300
T72on1           Neverland        SC     Sorc   99     3.52  2018-10-21  Yes  lots    483      13    350+
Bewitch          itssoftcore      SC     Sorc   99     3.52  2018-11-07  Yes     -      -       -      -
PhineasB         Phaedrus         SC     Pala   99     3.52  2018-11-12  Yes     -    401      13      -
ffs              Ric              SC     Necro  99     3.52  2018-12-26  Yes     -    463       -      -
Bewitch          Mayhem           SC     Barb   99     3.52  2019-07-07  Yes     -      -       -      -
PhineasB         Pestilence       SC     Necro  99     3.52  2019-07-29  Yes     -      -       -      -
Pb_pal           Klaus            HC     Druid  99     3.52  2019-10-07  Yes     -    433      NA      -
ResTTe           ResTTe           SC     Barb   99     3.52  2019-12-14  Yes     -    465    many   ~320
ffs              Lucid            SC     Pala   99     3.52  2019-12-23  Yes     -    457       -   <250
PhineasB         Quinta           SC     Ama    99     3.52  2019-12-27  Yes     -    413       4      -
Luhkoh           Arkana           SC     Sorc   99     3.52  2020-03-01  Yes     -      -       -      -
Kinkara          Bobo             SC     Barb   99     3.52  2020-12-13  Yes     -      -       -      -
D30D043          Fragile          HC     Sorc   99     3.52  2020-12-29  No      -      -       -    348
PhineasB         Death            SC     Barb   99     3.52  2020-12-31  No      -      -       2      -
Pax1990          Anger            SC     Barb   99     3.52  2021-11-12  Yes     -      -       -      -
PhineasB         Septimus         SC     Druid  99     3.52  2022-03-05  Yes     -      -       0      -

Questing Heroes
Rich (BB code):
Forumite         Character        SC/HC  Class  Level  Exp   Date        E/S  S/U   Grail  Deaths  Hours  D2/D2R
---------------  ---------------  -----  -----  -----  ----  ----------  ---  ----  -----  ------  -----  ------
Pb_pal           Stevesy          HC     Barb   98.3   3.31  2022-01-04  Yes     -      -      NA      -
MercMan          Big_Chill        SC     Sorc   98     3.23  2021-11-13  Yes     -    458     Yes      -  D2
ulof             LuckBeALady      HC     Nec    97     3.14  2021-09-20  Yes     -    482       -      -  D2
ffs              Revenge          HC     Barb   97.33  3.05  2021-08-25  Yes     -      -       -      -
D30D043          Exanimate        HC     Nec    97     3.05  2021-09-07  No      -      -       -    230
Jpy              Emilia           SC     Sorc   96     2.71  2021-10-28  No      -      -       -     55
Freuga           Ledyne           SC     Sorc   95     2.50  2022-02-01  Yes  1440    359      90    141  D2R
Pax1990          Pax              SC     Pala   95           2021-11-17  Yes     -      -       -      -
Evoken           Evoken           SC     Barb   95     2.49  2022-28-04  No      -      -      Yes   168  D2
NorthDakota      Aeon             SC     Sorc   94     -     2021-10-10  Yes     -      -       -    100  D2R
Grisu            Aviendha         HC     Sorc   93     2.22  2021-12-26  Yes   719    290       -     60  D2R
Irenicus         Fiona            SC     Zon    93     -     2021-12-18  No      -      -       16     -  D2R
Kinkara          Faust            SC     Nec    92     -     2021-07-21  Yes     -      -       -      -
Vang             Lost             SC     Sin    92     1.92  2021-10-29  Yes   175      -     Yes         D2R
Gynli            qqNecromancer    SC     Nec    91     0     2021-10-24  No      -      -       6      -  D2R
Yori96           Grace            HC     Sin    89     1.48  2022-01-15  Yes     -      102    NA      -  D2R
maxicek          Villanelle       SC     Sin    89     -     2021-10-09  Yes     0      -       -      -
Foghorn Leghorn  Jin-qua          HC     Nec    87     1.27  2022-04-23  No      -      -      NA      -  D2R
Foghorn Leghorn  May-may          HC     Zon    86     1.24  2022-04-23  No      -      -      NA      -  D2R
Foghorn Leghorn  DirkStruan       HC     Pala   85     1.08  2022-04-23  No      -      -      NA      -  D2R
Slam             Izaura           HC     Sorc   82     -     2021-02-27  Yes     -      -       0      -
Babyhell         Athena           SC     Sorc   67     0     2021-09-18  Yes     0      -       -      -
Babyhell         Minerva          SC     Zon    67     0     2021-09-23  Yes     0      -       -      -
inspiredunease   Kanakata         SC     Sin    80     -     2021-10-14  ?       ?      -       -      -  D2R

Resting Heroes
Rich (BB code):
Forumite         Character        SC/HC  Class  Level  Exp   Date        E/S  S/U   Grail  Deaths  Hours  D2/D2R
---------------  ---------------  -----  -----  -----  ----  ----------  ---  ----  -----  ------  -----  ------
Buckcrazy        Zic              HC     Sorc   98.5   3.38  2019-07-22  Yes     -      -      NA   lots
Bewitch          Mindcrime        HC     Pala   98     3.27  2019-11-19  Yes     -      -       -      -
Bewitch          Necronomicon     SC     Necro  98     3.22  2019-07-09  Yes     -      -       -      -
hasuprotoss      Reina            SC     Sorc   97     2.96  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes  1751    384       -      -
darkstarhub      Neptune          SC     Sorc   97     2.96  2018-07-23  Yes     -    470       -      -
Ashenshugar      Natur            SC     Druid  97     2.96  2018-11-20  Yes  2529      -       -      -
ResTTe           Lyssandra        SC     Sorc   97     2.96  2020-10-19  Yes     -    375    many    ~90
Me2Nik           Fugu             HC     Ama    96     2.72  2019-02-03  Yes  Lots      -       -      -
Tarantella       Tarasha          HC     Sorc   96     2.72  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     -      -       -      -
Grim             Furious_Blonde   SC     Ama    96     2.72  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     -      -       -      -
drmalawi         TheCanMan        SC     Pala   96     2.76  2020-01-19  Yes     -      -     Yes      -
teddeeboy        Atheyanore       SC     Sorc   95     2.52  2019-02-03  Yes  300+      -       8   many
Chaostar         Prairie          SC     Sorc   95     2.49  2019-06-15  Yes     -    384      25      -
CrustyRusty      Space_Oddity     SC     Ama    95     2.49  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     -      -       -      -
XyleneCyanol     Fishie           HC     Sorc   95     2.49  YYYY-MM-DD  No      -      -       -      -
Quinneczech      Blackwell        HC     Barb   95     2.49  2019-04-01  -       -      -      NA      -
Hutton           Terrahork        HC     Barb   95     0.00  2019-04-24  Yes     -      -      NA      -
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       -      -
smloeffelholz    ArbeitsPferd     SC     Sorc   94     2.29  2020-09-10  Yes     -      -       -      -
Arctodus         Lubotor          SC     Barb   94     2.28  2020-02-16  Yes     -      -      16      -
sanguillen       GordonChen-UT    HC     Necro  93     2.14  2019-02-27  Yes     -      -      NA      -
Reyz             Qty              SC     Sorc   93     2.10  YYYY-MM-DD  No      -      -       -      -
Zenigma          Ayura            SC     Barb   93     2.12  2018-09-08  No      -      -       -      -
T72on1           TooMuchEnergy    SC     Sorc   93     2.10  2019-07-19  Yes   267    181      12     47.5
LongingForDeath  VelvetSky        SC     Sorc   93     2.10  2019-12-19  Yes     -    396      12      -
Smittyphi        TheLongRun       SC     Sorc   93     2.09  2019-11-06  Yes    30      -     Yes      -
Trapin'          ceegee           SC     Pala   93     2.17  2020-01-01  No      -      -       -      -
Potent           Challenge(CL)    SC     Sorc   92     1.96  2018-07-30  no      -      -       -      -
jjscud           Ragnarok         SC     Pala   92     1.97  2019-12-28  No      -      -      36   lots
liquid_mage      zDadColdSorc     SC     Sorc   91     1.89  2019-02-04  Yes     -    223       -      -
Tatterson        Titaani          SC     Barb   91     1.84  2018-11-27  Yes     -      -       -      -
Zenigma          Gnosis           SC     Druid  91     1.79  2018-04-26  No      -      -       -      -
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     -      -       -      -
sir_cyclops      devi             SC     Sin    91     ?.??  2019-02-27  Yes     -      -       -      -
jonnyphive       Shaltara         SC     Sorc   91     ??    2020-03-13  Yes     -      -     Yes      -
Neksja           Aurora           SC     Sorc   90     1.70  2018-09-08  Yes     -    215       -      -
AlexTheNextOne   Orion            SC     Pala   90     1.62  2018-07-22  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      ?
Zarfen           Stamina          SC     Sorc   90      ??   2019-12-08  Yes     -      -     Yes      -
Lynchgrinch      Tattersail       SC     Sorc   89     1.48  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     -    321       ?      ?
Hutton           Jyn              HC     Sin    89           2020-05-24  Yes     -      -       -      -
Jocular          BareBear_Where   HC     Druid  88     1.47  2019-05-20  ???     -      -      NA      -
LiquidClear      Sally            SC     Sin    88     1.36  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes   225      -       1      -
MizzouFTW        Mariah           SC     Sin    88     1.36  2019-01-28  Yes     -     -        -      -
BasicBhoy        Belgarath        HC     Druid  88     1.36  2019-01-29  Yes     -      -       -      -
TwentyMuleTeam   Chore            SC     Sin    88     ?.??  2020-01-02  Yes     -      -       -      -
D30D043          Brute            HC     Barb   87     1.34  2020-10-31  No      -      -       -     59
Neksja           Turirao          SC     Druid  87     1.25  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes   191    124       5      -
T72on1           Grapelike        SC     Barb   87     1.25  2019-01-24  Yes    98     82      13     37
Gladstone        Socrates         HC     Druid  86     1.15  YYYY-MM-DD  -       -      -       -      -
klonki           Dualizt_Ann      SC     Sorc   86     1.14  2019-05-26  Yes     -     37       1     15+
Burgomaster3     Hastur           SC     Druid  86     1.14  2018-07-02  Yes     -      -       -      -
sanguillen       DirkStruan-UT    HC     Pala   85     1.10  2018-12-19  Yes     -      -      NA      -
nMEKn            Summon           SC     Nec    85     1.07  2019-05-17  Yes     -      -       4      -
hackedagainanda  Hugo             HC     Necro  85     1.05  2017-12-17  Yes     -      -       -      -
Bobbo            Barbamel         HC     Barb   84     1.01  2019-01-11  Yes     -      -      NA      -
nepeta           finistere        SC     Sin    84     1.14  2019-01-04  ?       -      -       1      4
DaveW            Long_Term        SC     Sorc   84     0.97  2018-05-02  Yes Heaps      -    Lots     30+
Naturallog       Athos            HC     Barb   84     0.96  YYYY-MM-DD  No    159    105       0      -
Kitteh           Gwynt            HC     Druid  83           2018-10-28  Yes     -      -      NA      -
Xul's Gull       Xul              HC     Necro  81     0.74  2018-03-26  No      -      -      NA      -
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
aarrgus          Acala            SC     Barb   80     0.68  2017-12-30  Yes     -      -       5      -
ioupainmax       Durnik           SC     Pala   79     0.63  2018-06-28  Yes   177    111       0      -
Jean Avila       SpeedAdict       SC     Ama    77     0.52  YYYY-MM-DD  No      -      -       -     50
MizzouFTW        NoDeathNoGlory   SC     Sorc   77     0.00  2019-12-12  Yes     -      -       -      -
logoutzero       Digimon          HC     Necro  76     0.48  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes    85     65       0      -
Gripphon         Ryu              SC     Sorc   76     0.48  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     -      -       ?     13
TwentyMuleTeam   Knope            SC     Sorc   76     0.00  2020-01-02  Yes     -      -       -      -
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      -
Irenicus_Mfs     Morgana          HC     Sorc   69     0.26  2018-12-09  Yes     -      -      NA     14+
Xul's Gull       Araphel          HC     Necro  60     0.12  2017-12-21  No      -      -       -      -
Burton Roberts   Arizona          SC     Ama    56     0.08  2018-06-12  No      -      -      15     38
Sleepybear123    Rob_theBarb      HC     Barb   50     0.05  2018-01-06  Yes     -      -       -     10
RIP              Sucell           HC     Druid  47     0.03  2018-12-08  Yes     -     20       -      -
Pijus            AGoodBoy         HC     Druid  45     0.00  2018-05-29  Yes     -      -      NA      -
Grape            Coke             SC     Barb   42     0.00  2018-12-06   ?     14     14       0      -
Izzak            Bones            SC     Necro  42     0.88  2019-01-10   -      -      -       1      -
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
kstuart          Nena             SC     Sorc   39     0.02  2020-04-15  Yes     -      -       -      -
Smancer          Smancer          SC     Necro  26     0.00  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     1      -       -      -
RIP              Espada           HC     Necro  24     0.00  2018-06-01  Yes     -     13       -      -
BKC              FearsomeFreddie  SC     Necro  23     0.00  YYYY-MM-DD  Yes     -      -       -      -
Ergroilnin       Erilinda         HC     Sorc   20     0.00  YYYY-MM-DD  No      -      -       -      -
DaveHutt         Alice            SC     Ama    13     0.00  2018-05-18  Yes     -      -       1      -
Lord Molybdenum  Ilucuthen        SC     Sin    13     0.??  2019-09-14  No      -      -       -      -
FireNice         Isern            SC     Zon    12     0     2019-12-04  Yes     0      -       -      -
dkn              Morgoth          SC     Barb   01     0.00  2019-10-04  Yes     -      -       0      0
MizzouFTW        Hocus            HC     Sorc   01     0.00  2018-10-28  Yes     -      -      NA      -

The Fallen
Rich (BB code):
Forumite         Character        SC/HC  Class  Level  Exp   Date        E/S  S/U   Grail  Deaths  Hours  D2/D2R
---------------  ---------------  -----  -----  -----  ----  ----------  ---  ----  -----  ------  -----  ------
Vildecor         Trina            SC     Ama    98     3.22  2020-03-20  Yes     -    443      17      -
ulof             LiveAndLearn     HC     Sorc   97     3.09  2021-03-10  Yes     -    477       -      -
Vildecor         Mina             HC     Zon    96     2.78  2022-02-10  Yes     -    363       1      -
ulof             BillyIdol        HC     Necro  96     2.71  2021-01-10  Yes     -    430       1      -
1have2much3time  Vagabond         HC     Necro  95     2.66  2019-06-22  Yes     -      -       1      -
RIP              Kaira_II         HC     Sin    95     2.55  2018-09-06  Yes     -    399       -      -
T72on1           ShouldBeEasy     HC     Pala   95     2.52  2019-01-04  Yes  lots    320      NA    103
Babyhell         IpBanPrevales    SC     Sin    95.5   2.60  2019-09-22  Yes     -      -       9      -
ulof             ArmyOfMe         HC     Nec    92     ?.??  2021-07-25  Yes     -    286       -      -
Babyhell         BabyNinetyNiner  SC     Pala   91     ?.??  2019-08-02  Yes     -      -       3      -
Lord Molybdenum  Verisimilitude   SC     Ama    91     1.62  2018-06-02  No     98     77       3      -
Tears85          EoEF_Untwinked   HC     Barb   90     1.63  2020-09-23
Shuffleblast     Translocator     HC     Sorc   89     1.48  2019-11-23  Yes     -      -       1      -
Lord Molybdenum  Cruise_Control   SC     Necro  88     1.??  2018-06-02  No    128    101      22      -
Kitteh           Gwynt            HC     Druid  87     XXXX  2018-11-07  Yes     -      -       -      -
Bewitch          itsreal          HC     Sorc   87     1.xx  2018-04-24  No      -      -       -      -
MizzouFTW        Pure             HC     Necro  86     1.15  2018-01-10  Yes     -      -       1      -
Babyhell         Frida            HC     Ama    85     ?.??  2020-11-24  Yes     -      -       1      -
Vildecor         Ivar             SC     Pala   84     1.02  2019-09-02  Yes     -    307       3      -
Vildecor         Celia            HC     Ama    84     0.99  2018-05-30  Yes   125     97       1      -
Lord Molybdenum  Essa             SC     Sorc   84     0.??  2018-06-02  No     20     19       5      -
Lord Molybdenum  But_Why          SC     Sin    81     0.74  YYYY-MM-DD  No     55     51      53      -
coju             NintyNine_orRiP  HC     Sorc   81     0.74  2016-04-07  Yes     -      -       1      -
Vildecor         Zinerva          SC     Ama    80     0.70  2020-04-24  Yes   309    195       0      -
RIP              Attila           HC     Barb   78     0.59  2018-09-26  Yes     -     73      no      -
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      -
Vildecor         Rikka            HC     Ama    76     0.00  2020-04-05  Yes    63     56       -      -
Shuffleblast     Translocator     HC     Sorc   67     0.00  2019-11-03  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      -
Vildecor         Mina-II          HC     Zon    45     -     2022-02-24  Yes     -      -       -      -  D2R
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
 
I have two big questions for May-may that I'm hoping you folks can help answer:
-since a Might merc doesn't really help a Frostmaiden at all (other than keeping himself alive for my benefit), am I better to try the new Act 5 Frenzy merc instead?
-she has a Ber and a Sur - I'd love to drop the Smoke for a Chains of Honor as I'm lacking in any + skills other than the Mara's, but am I better off trying to continue grinding for a second Ber or Sur, keep the Might merc, and eventually hopefully equip him with Infinity? I've never had Infinity before, so I'm not sure how much it helps Freezing Arrow out? Or do I really continue grinding in hop

Not a Icezon expert here, but it really depends what you want to do. The minus res on Infinity should certainly help you as a Frostmaiden and combined with something like Wizendraw is definitely more damage than your current setup. It may allow you to run Trav for facets and better chances of a direct Jah drop or other 85 areas instead of LK, which would net you more XP and chances of other uniques you might need.
I think i would go for Infinity+wizendraw and drop the smoke for something like peace or skullders even to gain + skills. With that set up you could also go SoJ farming for a while to break up the pace.

If you are set on Ice and dont mind the monotony go ahead and run LK some more, which should net you some nice skillers as well and maybe even a base for Ice.
 
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I do play the frost maiden. And I go for full self gear. Ice and chains of honors. Which one first if your choice I always go armour first as I play HC but on SC I might go weapon first for faster kill speed.


I myself alo thought of the new act5 merc but didnt try it yet so dono. If you find out I would be happy to hear your opinion
 
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Not a Icezon expert here, but it really depends what you want to do. The minus res on Infinity should certainly help you as a Frostmaiden and combined with something like Wizendraw is definitely more damage than your current setup. It may allow you to run Trav for facets and better chances of a direct Jah drop or other 85 areas instead of LK, which would net you more XP and chances of other uniques you might need.
I think i would go for Infinity+wizendraw and drop the smoke for something like peace or skullders even to gain + skills. With that set up you could also go SoJ farming for a while to break up the pace.

If you are set on Ice and dont mind the monotony go ahead and run LK some more, which should net you some nice skillers as well and maybe even a base for Ice.

I like your suggestion of Wizendraw + Infinity, and I do find LK runs to be extremely tedious and monotonous, so I might just decide to ditch my wonderful LK map and head back to either Normal Worldstone Keep or Nightmare Act 1 and Andariel to mine for it (I also need a Razortail still, so would seek that in NM as well). In a related vein, I did a search on Dii.net and found roughly a 50/50 split in terms of arguments in favour of Wizendraw vs. Melody. Given that in the right base, Melody can be a +6 to Freezing Arrow vs. Wizendraw's -CR%, what do people on here think would be the stronger choice? Ice to me would be a "hit the lottery down the road" type of weapon that I won't count on getting.

My one concern is that, as a HC player, dropping Smoke for something other than Chains of Honor would really hurt my resistances. I suppose Vipermagi, if I can find one, would be a budget way of getting +skills as well as resistances.

I do play the frost maiden. And I go for full self gear. Ice and chains of honors. Which one first if your choice I always go armour first as I play HC but on SC I might go weapon first for faster kill speed.


I myself alo thought of the new act5 merc but didnt try it yet so dono. If you find out I would be happy to hear your opinion

As I'm also HC, I'm totally on board with armor first. The question is, do I stick it out in LK to find one more Sur for an Infinity, or go with the Chains of Honor? I'm thinking that I like @lizard 's suggestion above, and try for the Infinity, and then try to make the resistances work somehow.
 
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As I'm also HC, I'm totally on board with armor first. The question is, do I stick it out in LK to find one more Sur for an Infinity, or go with the Chains of Honor? I'm thinking that I like @lizard 's suggestion above, and try for the Infinity, and then try to make the resistances work somehow.
Totally get that. Did not know you were HC.
It seems Nightmare andy would be a good spot for you. In 250 runs there I found 4 Wizendraws (one with -34 CR) and like 2 Razortails with 200ish MF at p3 or p5 with my Windy druid. Additionally you could also try and gamble for Wizendraw, the new persistent gamble window and the fact Wizendraw is a normal Unique it should be feasible to gamble, if you have the gold and are lucky, but you will find it relatively easy farming andy.
 
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Re Infinity and Wizendraw vs Infinity Melody.

I put some gear into maxroll calculator (https://d2.maxroll.gg/d2planner/hr0206z5) and according to their damages calculations (I cant vouch for the accuracy of those).
If you have Infinity, a Melody in a +3 Stag or +3 Matriarchal Bow beats out a Shael Wizendraw by ca 2000 dmg per sec (M+I ~12000 per s; W+I ~10000 per s), but Wizendraw beats Melody if you don't have Infinity (M+I ~6700 per s; W+I ~7100 per s).
So it seems, before Infinity the -CR on Wizendraw beats the +6 skills, but this reverses after Infinity.
Again take this with a grain of salt, I am not a big theorycrafter and dont know if the damage calculations are accurate, maybe you can do some testing if you decide to go for Infinity :D.

Gear
Shako
CoH
3 20 gloves
2 Soj
Maras
War travelers
Razortail
 
Hey.

Iam gonna post my update soon. I just have one quick question.
Ive been running cows for one week now and I just found a elite eth base for infinity. The only one I got in 1 week and its a stygian pike.
It this a good infinity base? I know its faster than cryptic axe and slower than thresher. The max dmg of 200 seem good to me. Should I use it for infinity or wait for a better base?
 
Unless they've changed it in D2R, a Stygian Pike is NOT an Infinity base... Infinity requires a Polearm, Stygian Pike is a Spear... (THAT would be a heartbreaking gemmed item!!)

WoRG
 
Hey.

Iam gonna post my update soon. I just have one quick question.
Ive been running cows for one week now and I just found a elite eth base for infinity. The only one I got in 1 week and its a stygian pike.
It this a good infinity base? I know its faster than cryptic axe and slower than thresher. The max dmg of 200 seem good to me. Should I use it for infinity or wait for a better base?

I found the following, which I believe is still valid?

Merc IAS breakpoints.png

For reference, Stygian Pike has the same weapon speed class (0) as Ogre Axe. If Jab is the merc's attack, and we presume your merc is wearing Treachery (with 45% IAS) and he is already getting +20% IAS from his helm as well (i.e. Andy's, or maybe a Stealskull socketed with an IAS jewel), then you won't see any difference between Stygian Pike and Thresher in terms of attacks per second. If it's just Treachery, the Thresher will proc Crushing Blow a little more....though maybe someone else can comment on just how noticeable that is - 3.84 attacks per second vs. 4.16 on the surface doesn't seem like that big of a difference to me, versus the amount of extra time you'd spend looking for a eth. Thresher.

Me, I would just go ahead and make it in the Stygian Pike that you found. (y)
 

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Ah thanks alot.
Yea it took me long enough to get this base so I wont bother to look for a slightly better one and focus on lk now.

Which will lead me to my update i guess.

I have been farming cows for the past week.
After one week I just found my first base for infinity and not a single HR ..
Well not from cows.

I got second Ohm from Tristram while getting the leg:

Screenshot068.png

I also did some arcane sanctuary runs but I only managed to find an mal and and ist rune. And those runs where slow and not fun.

Which led to my first cta roll:
Screenshot073.png

Pretty meh. thank god I got another ohm waiting just need a mal and ist for the reroll.

With cows beeing so bad at dropping hrs my plan was to stay there until I get and infinity base which i did.
I will run LK now to build infinity and then start farming for griffons and hope for a lucky jah and ber rune for enigma. ^^

And I also got this from cows which is freaking amazing:

Screenshot060.png

Iam a bit sad that it drew me back to LK so fast when my plan was to get the HRs somewhere else. But after one week cows and I did more than 20hours worth of runs and not a single hr I rather not waste more time there and just go back to lk.
 
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Update on Hurricane-Syd: Between the RFL, LK, random Chaos, Baal, Pits and Tunnel runs. Here is what Syd has found lately. Trying to keep some order to this update but that's just not me lol.

Chaos--Screenshot204.png

Rerolled a Diablo GC with all the gems Syd had gathered up and got a plain Ele GC
Screenshot235.png
Results from the Rune Finding League: Screenshot212.png
Screenshot206.png
Screenshot200.png
Screenshot194.png
Screenshot189.png
Screenshot210.png

Just finished up 1,000 LK runs. I did not screen shot all the runes that dropped but here are a few.

Run 360--Screenshot183.png

Run 438--Screenshot185.png

Run 864--Screenshot237.png

Run 888--Screenshot238.png

Total of the Pul+ Runes found from the 1,000 runs were 4x Puls, 2xUms, 3x Guls, 1 Vex. The Vex and 1 Pul were used for a HoTo early on. After considering cubing up some runes to get closer to a CTA, Syd is now sitting on every rune up to Vex +1 Sur rune. So next on the list would be a CTA with an Ohm rune or possibly considering cubing 2 Vex's if a Vex drops first and obviously Enigma if LK can drop so more Surs or even a Ber :cautious:

Gear as for now for Hurricane-Syd

Weapon--31@ HoTo
Swap--Tele Staff
Shield--Stormshield
Helm--Jalal's
Armor--Viper (28@)
Belt--String of Ears
Rare Gloves--2DEX, 11 mana, 13 LR, 19MF
Rare Boots--20 FRW, 10 FHR, 18%ED, 32LR, 37FR, 18MF
Amulet--28@ Mara's
Ring 1--Raven Frost (216AR/18DEX)
Ring 2--Rare 10FCR, 11 STR, 32 Life, 7CR, 15LR

Charms are 1 Gheeds (141/11/38), 1 Ele GC, Random Life and Resists charms with cube in the Inventory
 
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Considering my first 4,000 or so LK runs netted a combined 0 runes of Lo or higher, I'd say this stretch of good luck was long overdue. :cool:

Just a quick update - since the previously listed run 635, I've done 665 more LK runs in search of the final Sur or Ber for my first ever Infinity. The results of those runs:

1152 - Lo (from a corpse), and a 20/9% FR SC

That is all. Not one rune higher than a Lem from the Superchests in those 665 runs. It looks like my good luck was short-lived, as the RNG gods have apparently woken up. :cry:
 
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Another 1,000 LK runs down with my UT-HC-99 Druid entry. Still in search of the runes to make Enigma. These last 1,000 runs netted me some higher runes than the previous 1,000 runs but still not the runes to make Enigma. So 2,000 runs in and the highest rune found is now Ohm but it came from a clickable. The highest rune from a super chest is Vex. The Ohm, Mal, and Ist will go to making Syd's first CTA.

Breakdown of the runes found.

Run 1209--Pul
Run 1356--Mal
Run 1463--Ohm (Clickable)
Run 1476--ELEMENTAL SKILLER
Run 1713--Ist
Run 1736--Um
Run 1818--Vex
Run 1889--Um
Run 1905--Life/Mana SC

Screenshot241.pngScreenshot242.pngScreenshot243.pngScreenshot244.pngScreenshot246.pngScreenshot247.pngScreenshot248.pngScreenshot249.png
Screenshot250.png
 

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What a heater!!! We're cruising along!

Currently just running AT on P3 and LK on P8, haven't found any runes at all to speak of but found some nice grails!

I'm also splitting up my Pgems now, Amy & Ruby will be used for crafting soon as I'm 90.5~ so I'm taking those out and just putting all other Pgems aside for rolling GC's! Let me know if you think this is the right play or not!

Grail Items :

Skulders!
Executioners Justice
Sazabis Armor
Goulhide
Greyform
Messers (Champion Axe)
Maelstrom
Arcannas Sign (amulet)

Then I also found this absolute GEM! O.O

<snip>


Still playing, just cleaning up and wanted to post!
 
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