ThouShallNotDie - The Voice of Reason paladin following the HC path

[Babyhell]

Hey guys

Just restarted one character on my fresh new install: an HC paladin, who will be a Zealer using conviction and Voice of Reason as weapons.

Here he is!

Spoiler: And alone for now

Started his story on /p7, currently lvl 14

Been lucky somehow, using two rares and the Artic furs as armor!

This shield is very good for a start too:

And jewelry is not bad either... some MF at least

Head gear is defensive for now - it's been a while since i played an HC character, so there are no topazes here

Also i got a 2os scimitar, waiting for countess to drop Tir El, and given the close location i may run her a bit!

Cheers guys, not going to play a lot, but i'm still alive!

 

[jonny5]

Nice to see you back at it, @Babyhell! I've been playing more and more hardcore lately, myself. Definitely gives the game a different flavor. Are you going to aim for 2x Tir + El, so you can make a Steel flail once you hit A2 and can go Fara shopping? I used that when my (now deeded) zealot got to A2 and it carried him surprisingly far.

 

[Babyhell]

Thx for the advice! I will definitely try this upgrade path

 

[Babyhell]

First run at Countess dropped Tir El...d. Close call!

But then, luck on the path...

Hit Jail 1 waypoint, lvl 17

 

[Babyhell]

Lvl 20.5 now, running Andy for rings upgrade

On the path, decided to run a bit of Bone ash to complete a level. That went to be a good idea, as i dropped the artic set belt on the second run - perfect combo with my chest armor for additional def and 40MF:

Afterwards i dropped this low tier axe i never dropped before

And in the last Andy's runs before session end, an amulet upgrade:

I also dropped a second chipped diamond for shield, so now all res 22, pretty nice, a rare ring with 47 ar that is not bad but i'd like something more powerful even at that stage, and i bought boots with 25% reduced poison duration, that was good for Bone ash and on the path to Andy a rare pair went to drop with same feature, some AR and def too - not big, but nice for now.

See you on next update!

 

[T72on1]

Very nice to see you make a return. Good luck !!!

 

[Babyhell]

Hit lvl 21 running Andy hoping for upgrades. And there were some!

Starting with a drop from last session i hadn't disclosed that is part of current setup, even if set isn't that good...

Isenhart's helm

Which is now associated with the sword:

Clegaw's set parts went to drop too:

And two rings were worth the upgrade...

Those rings and the previous session's amulet adds up a nice 28%MF, combined with the 40%MF from artic 2 pieces set bonus.

Now he is also wearing Clegaw's gloves and shield, and Isenhart's helm and sword. Boots are still the same rare ones, but apart of that, everything has changed thanks to Andy (or almost). I'll move towards Act 2 on next session!

Hf, see you on next update!

 

[Babyhell]

Act 2 now complete, at lvl 25.

It has been pretty straightforward, no real drop and quick finds of locations in desert and AS (first path taken had been the good one).

He twinked a Strength runeword after a giveaway from @DiabloTwoinDC 's HC untwinked character that allowed him to slay Duriel using only two life pots with A1 merc kept alive. Could have follow the Steel path too and stay untwinked, but i'd like to support him with your help, and some life leech never hurts

She does good job for sure, but she will probably be retreated with all the honors and he wil head to A3 with a desert merc, a defensive one.

The Duriel drops were nice - angelic ring, gorefoot and a 14MF boots, and he's going to replace his poison duration boots for the unique ones and get some FRW finally

Spoiler: Identified pics

Next target: a new helm. If i can trade a Sol i may craft a Lore runeword, if not i'll hope for some rare with def stats (PDR/MDR). Why not using the MF boots after all?

Edit: pics added!

 

[Babyhell]

Almost hit Diablo...

Since last time, ran through A3... and did some LK runs during an hour in order to get some better charms. And some were good!
First of all, the Stealth craft early in A3 so merc could run after me

Ring reward:

Now the LK drops...

The shield would be nice at lvl 9

This GC is nice whatsoever

The other charms - mostly stats and resistances

Coral Grand Charm of Dexterity
Grand Charm
Required Level: 15
Fingerprint: 0x41c0ec55
Item Level: 22
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+6 to Dexterity
Lightning Resist +21%

Static Large Charm of Flame
Large Charm
Required Level: 10
Fingerprint: 0x5197801d
Item Level: 22
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 2 Fire Damage
Adds 1 - 8 Lightning Damage

Ocher Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 10
Fingerprint: 0xefd7b95e
Item Level: 22
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Strength
Lightning Resist +7%

Azure Small Charm of Frost
Small Charm
Required Level: 10
Fingerprint: 0xcbe97538
Item Level: 22
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 2 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
Cold Resist +5%

Russet Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 7
Fingerprint: 0xb19c8d58
Item Level: 22
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Fire Resist +17%

Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 1
Fingerprint: 0x794edd20
Item Level: 22
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+4 to Strength

Mephisto dropped Angelic mantle

At forge, dropped this SC, freeing up a space in inventory (got a 15 psn large charm):

Oh and btw, forge dropped a Tir... not worth a screenshot! But the PDiamond was a nice drop still

Artic quest almost complete in the River of flame... yes xD

Well... maybe next time Diablo! Could get De Seis and Vizier, but not the flaming troopers...

See you on next update!

 

[Babyhell]

Well after few tries,the seals were broken in /p1 for the flaming army seal, but Diablo went down on p7 with 6 HP pots.

Some cool drops:

Forgot to screenshot the berserker helm, but Diablo provided it alongside with a weapon upgrade for merc - still without LL sadly.

See you in NM

I decided to try new stuff, and start to run a bit of Mephisto. Now lvl 31!

See you on next update!

 

[Babyhell]

Now Act 5, only Larzuk's quest done.

Lvl 32 has been completed running Mephisto in order to get some upgrade on gloves and helm.

Things started with an upgrade... on shield! Nice one at this stage, if it was not for the Rhyme runeword i would have thought about socketing it to get enough resistances to start nightmare - but the CBF mod can be beaten.

Lots of runs later, new boots... i'm good on targeted upgrades -_-

Then came a nice double drop of interest, with the Sander's cap - good for MF, and a really nice weapon for merc

Nothing of interest afterwards, a gem shrine for a PTopaz, and finally... happy level 33

So i'm still using crappy MF gloves at this stage. May Baal be more rewardful!

See you on next update! #PraisedBeLilith #AtLeastCinematicsAreStillWorthIt

 

[Babyhell]

Frozen tundra wp hit, and now lvl 39 after some Pindle runs

Finally, a nice pair of rare gloves went to drop early in the session. It may even be upp'ed:

Abaddon was rewardful, leading me to run the three similar areas - however, only this one gave something:

On the path to the Frozen tundra, Cleglaw's set has been completed. And a nice War scepter dropped alongside!

The scepter replaced the flail as Strength runeword, and Pindle went to be visited for some levels, ending session at lvl 39. Only one drop of small interest:

For now, not sure that the War scepter is a better weapon than the flail, but life leech seems more consistent... i'll see on the long run!

See you on next update!

 

[Babyhell]

[Pics/details to be added]

Destroyer finally!

After leaving the Frozen tundra, he went straight to the Ancient's, dealt with them with ease and ran to the Throne chamber. First run has been done on p7 - Baal included, forgot to switch to p3. Took some time, but apart from last wave that had to be split, everything was pretty smooth. Completed Baal kill at lvl 42 iirc.

Afterwards, started to Baal run on p3, in order to upgrade general stuff - I can't see him getting through NM still using the artic set pieces and a so low damage weapon.

Some drops were found that will be listed when i'll have more time, but the three main ones were a SoE with low average damage reduction, a spineripper for better damage on the last runs, and the necro helm giving some LL for merc. Will keep running a bit hoping for an armor upgrade/another helm, until lvl 50+ (currently lvl 46). By then Conviction shall be maxed, it may be time to pump some more Holy shield!

See you for details/on next update!

 

[maxicek]

The p3 thing for Baal is only in Hell due to the experience cap IIRC

I think you are going to need to look for lots of elemental damage charms - Large Lightning are best here. Also aim for Duress for the armour.

 

[Babyhell]

The p3 thing for Baal is only in Hell due to the experience cap IIRC

I think you are going to need to look for lots of elemental damage charms - Large Lightning are best here. Also aim for Duress for the armour.

Oh yes...you must be right on p3, bad habit! But it doesn't seem to impact drop quality at least. For large charms of elemental damage, I bet the next best place would be NM LK...not sure that normal cows can drop with nice affixes, I have to check that.

For duress, it will be a long term target, if I can find some armor with nice resistances for now i'd be happy to start NM with it, I'm not feeling like going NM with arctic armor - it implies keeping the belt. Maybe Vipermagi can be dropped by Mephisto...I have few things to check before next session

Edit: after check, Mephisto is the best place for Vipermagi. In NM...so i can only hope to drop it from Baal! Or build up poison res for Andy NM runs...not sure of what would be better, maybe Baal with higher MF is still the best place. Lvl 50 now, nothing noticeable!

 

[Babyhell]

Hit lvl 55, still been Baal running.

Found some Rhyme base in the Throne chamber - not a huge one, but it can do the trick

Afterwards, a huge upgrade for merc weapon!

A nice Wizzy found in the Throne chamber too

Then nothing until lvl 55 passed, with a couple of so-so items... but i will probably use them, and jump into nightmare

For armor, no cool drop, pretty sad as it was the main targeted stuff. The Venom ward will be taken from merc in order to build the Poison resistances for Andy NM: she will be the next running target, trying to get upgrades on rings/amu.

Beside, Lem and Ko have been traded with @hackedagainanda : will now try to trade for a 4os or a set of phase blades to craft and get the build needed Voice of Reason!

See you on next update!

 

[Babyhell]

Jumped into NM after last session, and... yes, no more xp on the path. Therefore i went p1 and decided to run Countess a bit, until full stash. Some pics!

Hel, Io, Shael and Rals were nice to drop on close runs:

Afterwards, the Whistan's shield... not nice enough to compete with the future Rhyme shield, but i'm pretty happy with this drop - currently at 40MF before Rhyme.

Here are my Countess rune drops in the end, right before consuming Shael Eth on the 13 allres shield:

Resistances are good now: next step, Andy!

After few runs of Andy, dropped a nice weapon upgrade (still using Strength for bosses, will craft a Black flail soon). But things started on the way on the first pass:

Pretty nice already! Then went this drop:

Who cares about that gloves, but the shield had good stats! Better ED and/or sockets it would have been close to perfect!

And finally this happened:

Maybe worth a Shael for IAS until VoR?

See you on next session!

 

[dkn]

Awesome updates @Babyhell !!

My VoR (twinked) pally is level 76 and in Act 1 hell. My merc is using Rift so it's a most beautiful display of Orbs! Merc has trouble staying alive though lol.

 

[Babyhell]

Hey

My merc is currently the damage dealer for me, i guess that it will be the case until i find this 4os phase blade in hell! I will soon replace him by a Holy freezer merc, it should be stronger and safer - i will on next session, as i will run Andy a bit

I haven't found a thread on your char, is he involved in any tournament where i could find updates on him? Also i guess he is SC?

Awesome updates @Babyhell !!

My VoR (twinked) pally is level 76 and in Act 1 hell. My merc is using Rift so it's a most beautiful display of Orbs! Merc has trouble staying alive though lol.

 

[Pijus1]

I'm also running a Convinction Paladin. He's self found, and currently in NM lower kurast. I ran the chests for an afternoon, and found a Fal, a Ko and a rune sword which I socketed with the cube and got 4 sockets. I also had a monster drop Fal earlier in act3, so I'm really close to making VoR. I decided to go with an act3 merc(cold). He's alright, but the damage is underwhleming even with conviction. I'd like to replace him with a defensve merc from normal, but I don't want to lose my LK map.