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

@ffs im unavailable for some months but I’m sure Indrek would do that lmfao
 
@ResTTe

Reply to a post with the tables; and click 'Toggle BB code' on the upper right corner ( looks like this => '[ ]' ).
It toggles between [QUOTE ] style of text and the one with the stylish quote boxes.

E: it looks like reply function has some problems rendering nested tags though.
 
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I knew there is a way to do it, thx Gynli!

There are some weird things that happen when i try to reply, so i will just wait till everything is fixed. It's kinda annoying, cause i had the whole update ready, but i deleted it by mistake when trying to figure out that quotation thing. I wanted to write it once again, but it changes the font for no reason and i can't change it back, cause some options aren't available...

Guess i will post an update when my sorc gets to 97, which should happen next week. Kinda lame, but whatever.
 
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Hello everyone.
I find myself in a pretty bad situation.
Now that my barb is geared and the exp grind can begin, i dont enjoy it at all...
baalruns with ww barb are not fun at all. they feel clunky and exhausting and i keep dying to wave 2 and 5....
i dont know what to do. its not fun but at the same time i dont want to give up on this char after i grinded so long for the gear...
i was thinking about starting a sorc but iam not sure what to do
 
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@Pax1990 use War Cry to help with wave 2 and 5 (you can even lower /players for wave 2 to help without losing too much exp)
 
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What I can add is that I didn´t wanna go full Baalrunz right to start with as I feel there´s nothing as boring in D2 as Baalrunz! You can try to do some CS Runz, even so at least until 97 this will hurt your XP!

As for Baalrunz..... I am doing Ventarrunz atm, this get´s at least rid of w5! Yet I agree that W2 almost GGed me:

Screenshot052.jpg

I personally was switching alot of builds! I know I got scolded for it, but I enjoy switching builds! Advanced Tears noob tactics would include Frenzy/Zerker CS Runz.....even so really before 97 not worth XP vise! But mb u can motivate yourself going till 97 and than switch up things? MB u could even do Nila at 97!

You can try WW CS, but really u will struggle above p3! :(
 
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@Pax1990 WW does feel weird at the start. When I began doing my Baal runs I had never played with WW before, so it took some time getting used to. I think I died once every lvl from 90 to 95 or 96 -I don't remember any more-, but at some point they became pretty easy. Although I agree they can become pretty tiresome, seeing that little exp tick move is still amazing, and you wont find a faster way to do it :)

Some things I learnt by dying to the waves was: don't engage with fanaticism. Not worth it at all.
 
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yea i know that. it not just wave 2 and 5 thats a problem. using ww just feels bad to play for me
Probably not the build for you then considering the time investment for 98-99. Try something else.
 
@Pax1990 honestly man, that's not that unusual. Often the funnest part is gearing up. It's not a big deal imo. You can do different runs with the barb without worrying about exp or you can start a different character, and you may or may not feel motivated to come back to it. No shame either way. The time you spent still found you a lot of good stuff. You could also do 10 hours or so of baaling with the barb and see if you come around to liking them. But just have some fun, and don't get too caught up in it is my advice.
 
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First off, hi SPF. Second, I'm just going to copy-paste my post from the old site here because I didn't realize we migrated before having posted it... The edit at the bottom is part of the copy-paste.
---------------
So it's been a while since I've posted, but rest assured, I've been playing ever now and then. Maybe do a couple hours a week for a few weeks straight after taking a break for a few months. Certainly not logging time as would be needed to complete this challenge before I retire, but I digress.

I am here for a progress report: Ayura the Throwbarb, has finally attained a weapon that I've had in mind since the beginning:

Code:
Warshrike
Winged Knife
Throw Damage: 77 - 131
One Hand Damage: 90 - 117
Quantity: 200
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 45
Required Dexterity: 142
Fingerprint: 0xf01a147d
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
25% Chance to cast level 9 Nova on striking
+30% Increased Attack Speed
Piercing Attack
237% Enhanced Damage
50% Deadly Strike
Replenishes quantity

Found it not even an hour after picking up another Gul rune. It's the worst ed roll I've gotten across the 3 times I've found this in SP, but I'll take it nonetheless. Damage isn't impressive either way on Warshrike, but I'm here for one thing: that piercing attack mod. Combined with razortail giving 33%, I'm going to test if I can generate more total damage out of using this versus double rare throwers.

If you want to see what the piercing mod is competing against, here you go:

Code:
     Blood Horn
Winged Knife
     Throw Damage: 86 - 148
     One Hand Damage: 101 - 133
     Quantity: 102
     Required Level: 69
     Required Strength: 45
     Required Dexterity: 142
     Fingerprint: 0xc77dd230
     Item Level: 86
     Version: Expansion 1.10+
+40% Increased Attack Speed
     275% Enhanced Damage
     +2 to Maximum Damage
     +104 to Attack Rating
     Adds 12 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
     7% Life stolen per hit
     Required Level +12
  

     Bramble Barb
Flying Knife
     Throw Damage: 98 - 230
     One Hand Damage: 98 - 230
     Quantity: 200
     Required Level: 48
     Required Strength: 48
     Required Dexterity: 141
     Fingerprint: 0xa5d0f74a
     Item Level: 87
     Version: Expansion 1.10+
327% Enhanced Damage
     +67 to Attack Rating
     4% Life stolen per hit
     Poison Resist +13%
     Replenishes quantity
  

     Havoc Spike
Hyperion Javelin
     Throw Damage: 107 - 212
     One Hand Damage: 80 - 219
     Quantity: 100
     Required Level: 55
     Required Strength: 98
     Required Dexterity: 123
     Fingerprint: 0x5764d4ee
     Item Level: 86
     Version: Expansion 1.10+
+40% Increased Attack Speed
     284% Enhanced Damage
     +1 to Maximum Damage
     Adds 1 - 2 Cold Damage Over 2 Secs (50 Frames)
     Required Level +7
  


     Grim Lance
Stygian Pilum
     Throw Damage: 120 - 381
     One Hand Damage: 85 - 326
     Quantity: 90
     Required Level: 80
     Required Strength: 118
     Required Dexterity: 112
     Fingerprint: 0x8cd9497b
     Item Level: 86
     Version: Expansion 1.10+
392% Enhanced Damage
     Adds 17 - 12 Damage
     +174 to Attack Rating
     +9 to Strength
     Required Level +12
  


     Skull Bar
Harpoon
     Throw Damage: 62 - 241
     One Hand Damage: 45 - 175
     Quantity: 80
     Required Level: 53
     Required Strength: 25
     Required Dexterity: 118
     Fingerprint: 0x62dac7b3
     Item Level: 86
     Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Increased Attack Speed
     247% Enhanced Damage
     +8 to Maximum Damage
     +46 to Maximum Damage (Based on Character Level)
     +1534 to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)
     Required Level +5
  


     Soul Sunder
Winged Axe
     Throw Damage: 10 - 205
     One Hand Damage: 16 - 199
     Quantity: 125
     Required Level: 82
     Required Strength: 96
     Required Dexterity: 122
     Fingerprint: 0x6521ecd6
     Item Level: 92
     Version: Expansion 1.10+
49% Enhanced Damage
     +116 to Maximum Damage (Based on Character Level)
     +1534 to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)
     Adds 6 - 30 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
     7% Mana stolen per hit
     4% Life stolen per hit
     +19 to Life

Warshrike combined with Lacerator (which I believe I posted about, way back when I originally found it) opens up some interesting opportunities--foremost among these is changing mercenaries. I have always wanted to try fanaticism on my throwbarbs, but without a weapon that applies amp damage, no mercenary would be better than reaper's toll on a desert merc. I found a reaper's back around level 89 I think when grinding out some pindle. So I've had that in use for quite a while. I am very nearly capable of making faith for a rogue merc, and I could put the delirium helm I made on her to increase the safety of having 2 ranged attackers. Howl in itself has proven suitable for safety thus far if I get overwhelmed. Decisions to be made when the time comes.

What it boils down to now is this: is it faster to use Warshrike/Lacerator with a faith merc to maximize attack speed and piercing so I can reliably hit my target through mooks, or is it better to have dual rares with a reaper's toll merc and howl away mooks to hit just my intended target. Only time and testing will tell.

I'll add Ayura back to the table when he gains a level. That's all for now, 99ers

Edit: and 25 minutes after posting this I pick up a Lo rune. Can't complain about today!
 
Thanks everyone for your kind words.
i decided to not give up on the barb i do some more baal runs to get a feel for it.
i realized that iam still missing a dual leech ring to fix my mana problems. i run out of mana alot and pots dont always help enough. so i hope gameplay gets smoother once i dont have to worry about mana anymore.

@Zenigma congrats on the lo rune and war shrike. nice to see some more people postin again in this thread
 
I wholeheartedly agree that Baal running is the absolute worst thing in this game. :D However, I've been grinding Ball with WW a bit earlier this year, maybe a few tips:
  • Listen to some good music or podcast or watch something, because it will always be boring to some degree at least... ;)
  • Use War Cry like @Jpy said. Definitely recommend to use it a lot especially when starting out – just go back and forth between WC and WW on RMB frequently (don't use weapon switch just because you might have more FCR there). In particular against W2 and W5, but it also helps against W1 and W3. You can always reduce WC casts as you get more comfortable, but they honestly cost basically no time and will make runs much smoother. Against W5 at some point I just started going for 100% uptime of WC stun until there's only a few left – some random W5 mana burn roll can cost you much more time than those WC casts over time.
  • Add a good amount of cold damage sources/duration. Ravenfrost and/or charms are good ways to do that. It makes runs safer and easier to clean up the waves.
  • Not sure which helm you use but if you have survival issues, consider Arreat's. It is a lot safer than GFace and not much worse. It's only when including Baal himself where GFace pulls away in performance.
 
@Pax1990 - I endorse the advice from @ffs whose advice also helped me get past some frustration with Lister mana burn, in particular. Casting WC on damage switch rather than cast switch after the initial cast on spawn point made a big difference for me. Also, AR was a challenge for chance-to-hit so that may be something to see if you can shore up.

Can you please remind on your Barb's level, stats and gear? There may be some possible gear tweaks that will also help, given what you have available from untwinked playthrough. CBF on merc made a big difference for me, particularly on Wave 2 and Baal. For reference, Death's updates from when he started Baal begin here for a few posts in the archive, then 96.5, 97, and 97.5 showing some key gear improvements and approach to the runs, as well as points where frustration came through :) Final stats and gear at lvl 98 are here. On gear, if you have String of Ears, I recommend prioritized a mana leech ring (rather than dual) or even amulet if no Highlord's yet.

I also agree that Baal runs can get tedious, especially if the character is missing a key piece of gear. The other idea I'd offer is having another project or two to take breaks when you get a few bad spawns in a row. It helped for me to be able to do LK runs or quest some characters through, and sometimes even a 30-minute break was enough so I came back fresh. The positive about Baal runs is that it's a finite number to whatever mid-point goal you set, and so it helped me to keep setting one that allowed meaningful progress toward it and then moving to the next one.

That said, the most important thing is fun, even more so if the goal is pushing to lvl 99. Hopefully some of the feedback helps make the runs more enjoyable, and the gear upgrades to make the runs more comfortable may be good little prizes along the way.
 
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i realized that iam still missing a dual leech ring to fix my mana problems. i run out of mana alot and pots dont always help enough. so i hope gameplay gets smoother once i dont
I really hope u got a source of manaleech, do u? U almost certainly wanna use String/Coif + ML RIng! If u don´t have, u can even go for a Tal´s Mask! (I know guys...but better Tal´s than no ML, right?)....better than having no ML and Gulli really only needed for w5 + Baal!

€: Was on the phone, and got ninjad! But really, u do need both kinds of leech!
 
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I wholeheartedly agree that Baal running is the absolute worst thing in this game. :D However, I've been grinding Ball with WW a bit earlier this year, maybe a few tips:
  • Listen to some good music or podcast or watch something, because it will always be boring to some degree at least... ;)
  • Use War Cry like @Jpy said. Definitely recommend to use it a lot especially when starting out – just go back and forth between WC and WW on RMB frequently (don't use weapon switch just because you might have more FCR there). In particular against W2 and W5, but it also helps against W1 and W3. You can always reduce WC casts as you get more comfortable, but they honestly cost basically no time and will make runs much smoother. Against W5 at some point I just started going for 100% uptime of WC stun until there's only a few left – some random W5 mana burn roll can cost you much more time than those WC casts over time.
  • Add a good amount of cold damage sources/duration. Ravenfrost and/or charms are good ways to do that. It makes runs safer and easier to clean up the waves.
  • Not sure which helm you use but if you have survival issues, consider Arreat's. It is a lot safer than GFace and not much worse. It's only when including Baal himself where GFace pulls away in performance.
Thanks for all that good advice @ffs.
Its not that the gameplay is boring. Its exhausting and i dont feel strong. Every run feels like hard work to complete. I guess i just miss the feeling of being strong or overpowered and destroying the monsters. I definitly have some music or streams running on my 2nd monitor.
I do use warcry at the start of every wave. Can i recast it and the mobs get stunned again? I feel like the get immune for some time after the first stun.
I use ravenfrost for the cold slow and i absolutly helps.
Atm iam using gface for more damage. since i dont want to beat at the mobs forever. Also i dont have arreats yet. I will give it a try tho once i find it.

@Pax1990 - I endorse the advice from @ffs whose advice also helped me get past some frustration with Lister mana burn, in particular. Casting WC on damage switch rather than cast switch after the initial cast on spawn point made a big difference for me. Also, AR was a challenge for chance-to-hit so that may be something to see if you can shore up.

Can you please remind on your Barb's level, stats and gear? There may be some possible gear tweaks that will also help, given what you have available from untwinked playthrough. CBF on merc made a big difference for me, particularly on Wave 2 and Baal. For reference, Death's updates from when he started Baal begin here for a few posts in the archive, then 96.5, 97, and 97.5 showing some key gear improvements and approach to the runs, as well as points where frustration came through :) Final stats and gear at lvl 98 are here. On gear, if you have String of Ears, I recommend prioritized a mana leech ring (rather than dual) or even amulet if no Highlord's yet.

I also agree that Baal runs can get tedious, especially if the character is missing a key piece of gear. The other idea I'd offer is having another project or two to take breaks when you get a few bad spawns in a row. It helped for me to be able to do LK runs or quest some characters through, and sometimes even a 30-minute break was enough so I came back fresh. The positive about Baal runs is that it's a finite number to whatever mid-point goal you set, and so it helped me to keep setting one that allowed meaningful progress toward it and then moving to the next one.

That said, the most important thing is fun, even more so if the goal is pushing to lvl 99. Hopefully some of the feedback helps make the runs more enjoyable, and the gear upgrades to make the runs more comfortable may be good little prizes along the way.

Mana burn is a problem atm since i dont have a ring with mana leech yet. Yes iam using soe, so i hope to find a decent ring with mana leech soon.

Anger is lvl 89 atm.
Stats wise i pushed vita until i get 4k HP with bo. After that i put points in str. Ofc i have the 136 dex to wear my griefs pb.

My Gear is:
GFace Um
2x Grief PB
Eni
Soe
Loh
Aldurs (hoping for gorerider drop soon)
2x Hoto
Ravenfrost
Rare ring with ll, some stats and res
rare amu with ll, life and res

Merc:
Kiras
Treasery
Reapers

I will think about starting a 2nd UT99er to keep things interessting.
On the other hand i dont have much time to play so i should focus on the barb if i ever want to get him to 99.

Thanks again to everyone being so friendly and helpful. I really love this community =)
 
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Really I advice again not to go without ML! No matter were, and if it´s a clean ML Ring u´ll be better of! Just go to GoMule.......type in Mana and filter Misc----->Rings...use the best ML RIng that appears!

Another advice would be to gamble for Rings!

€: You could even go with Mavinas Belt or this dual leech ring belt from GFace set!
 
@Pax1990 The other posts have probably stressed it enough. But mana leech is an absolute requirement. Honestly I have no idea how you've tolerated playing ww barb so far without it. A blue ring with 3% mana leech will be a huge improvement, so don't wait around for a decent one. Use whatever is available. This is extremely positive news in my opinion since it means you have no idea (yet) if you like or dislike the baal runs. Give it a try and let us know how it goes! Also much less important note, I wouldn't waste any extra points into strength. More hp is always nice.
Thanks again to everyone being so friendly and helpful. I really love this community =)
❤️
 
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