[Highlight]Team jiansonz[/Highlight] - 76 points
Destroyer Herne (Druid, Shapeshifting/Summoning) - level 50 - NM Black Marsh- 34 points
Odysseus (Paladin, Offensive/Defensive) - level 35 - Harrogath - 21 points
Elayna (Assassin, Martial Arts/Shadow Disciplines) - level 35 - Harrogath - 21 points
I´m in Nightmare, here me roar! :lol:
Herne, the furry druid with mighty wolves (or sometimes, bear) has taken the front position in my team.
Act 5 Normal, what a major snore-fest that is! You always get the exact same monster mix in every specific area. Two things kept me awake:
* Boss packs. They are not many, but they can be of monster types not otherwise seen in a specific area. Evil Urns are cool, too.
* Decent stuff starts to drop (chance for exceptional uniques, the lowest mid-level runes (above Ort) can drop.
Herne did like almost all my characters: he reached level 49 the very moment Baal died. I´ve seen several participants in this tourney do Normal Baal runs when their characters reach Destroyer status. I don´t see the point in that (other than to hunt for items, if you´re so inclined, of course). I mean, isn´t level 49 enough for Nightmare? The critters in NM Blood Moor are only level 34-35...
Baal dropped a rare +2 Martial Arts amulet with some minor resists, etc. If Elayna wears this (after level 51, when she can), her imbued Circlet and some gloves Herne crafted (her Destroyer reward slot), she gets +4 Martial Arts. If she then maxes Dragon Talon, she gets a fifth kick with it. Woot! Resists may be a problem for her if she wears this stuff. It will likely be 'Smoke' for armor if I can find a Lum rune.
Herne has made some succesful gambling/crafting in NM. I have a very good gloves collection and this sweet resist amulet:
Death Wing
Amulet
Required Level: 30
+30 to Life
Fire Resist +51%
Lightning Resist +14%
Cold Resist +14%
Poison Resist +31%
3% Life stolen per hit
10% Chance to cast Level 3 Hydra when struck
I also have a 13/29 Shimmering Amulet of Luck that Herne is wearing at the moment.
I gambled a nice +89% ED, +14 max damage, +30 IAS rare War Scythe for the merc, that I upgraded to exceptional. I was convinced that Grim Scythes require STR/DEX 100. I was wrong, they require 140. Idiot! 800k gold (I gambled LOADS of War Scythes), Ort + Amn + perfect sapphire down the drain... I sold the Grim Scythe. Merc can´t use this until halfway through Hell, and I am sure to have some better Elites by then.
My prize stash holds one copy of each Set/Unique item found (two for rings and some weapons). 69 items now, including four complete sets (well, technically three; Odysseus still has Cleglaw´s Pincers in his stash, since he doesn´t know if he wants to use them later. Might be useful for some boss fights, I think.)
To avoid act 5 Normal for as long as possible now, the other two won´t move out of Harrogath before Herne has slain NM Andariel. I´m having a blast in Nightmare with Herne. I LOVE the high boss density and the good drop chances. Feral Rage was a useful skill against Blood Raven, because of the foot speed it provided. Try to outrun an enraged werewolf. It ain´t easy...