'Three Way Dance II' - H.C 1.10 Tournament

[angiras]

Team Angiras--total pts 228

Angirasa (pass/javazon) level 81, Pandemonium Fortress Hell....84 pts
Atharvan (sum/curse necro) level 80, Pandemonium Fort Hell....84 pts
Yoga (off/combat pally),...RIP to NM Baals minions....60pts

Tourney play has been sporadic for last week due to RL demands. But my two surviving team members have made it to the safe hold of Pandemonium, after wading through the infested swamps of Act III and finally killing Meph. The zon had some difficulty with the Trav council and Brem and gang due to LI. Had to revive merc and recast valk several times. Will prolly do some meph runs with my necro now, because he has a good map, one room away from level 3 durance entrance. They are both looking forward to the goodness of Hellforge. The zon is especially hoping for a Mal to go with the two Kos, for sanctuary, or a Fal for lionheart. She was going to make a Duress armor, but then realized it cant be made on SP....bleh.

They are currently sitting in the fortress praying the gloams around Izzy wont be too bad. The zon and necro both have LR at 75, (inventories almost full of charms) but if the gloams are convicted, a pack can still kill in one hit from off screen. Time for some caution, esp for the zon. The LI minotaurs can also be bad news for her.

 

[erimatbrad]

The zon is especially hoping for a Mal to go with the two Kos, for sanctuary, or a Fal for lionheart. She was going to make a Duress armor, but then realized it cant be made on SP....bleh.

Can you make Duress anywhere? I thought that was never enabled anywhere, actually.

It's very interesting -- I've got the Mal, and want the Kos, and I'm also missing the Fal for Lionheart (for my Zon!)...

I'm glad that you're ahead of me, so I can watch how you handle the gloams, because I certainly am not looking forward to it....

 

[kramph]

Team Marvel (kramph) – 76 points
Destroyer Red Skull – (Necromancer – Summoning/Curses) – lvl 50 – Act I NM – 30 points
Emma Frost – (Sorceress – Cold/Lightning) – lvl 42 – Act V Nml – 25 points
Jubilee – (Amazon – Bow/Passive) – lvl 30 – Act V Nml – 21 points

Prize Stash (45) – Set Items (26); Unique Items (19)

Red Skull has made Destroyer. It was pretty anti-climatic. I continued to level him to 50 and to look for items.

Emma Frost is working her way through the fifth act. She will level to 50 and look for items as well. She found a Skystrike for Jubilee that she can use in Nightmare.

 

[xxarcherxx]

Team The Deadly Trio (xxarcherxx) – 22 points
TDT_ArrowSwarm – (Amazon – Passive/Bow) - lvl 17 - Act I Nml Last quest completed: Malus
TDT_FlamesofIce - (Sorc – Cold/Fire) - lvl 20 - Act I Nml – R.I.P Slain by fire
Last quest completed: Malus
TDT_RagingBeast - (Druid – Shape/Summon) - lvl 25 - Act II Nml Last Quest completed: The Seven Tombs

Everything is going pretty well. My Druid finished off Act 2 with a climactic showdown with Duriel that took about 10 minutes. I just hit him enough times until I came close to dying, run back through a tp, go heal, and resummon my minions. I was lucky my weapon had PMH. Then, I did about 30 countess runs until i had the runes for Zephyr. Now I just need a good bow to put it in. My Amazon is doing fine,the only hard time was in the barracks. I was fighting a group of skele archers when my merc opens a door. Next thing I hear is, "I SHALL MAKE WEAPONS FROM YOUR BONES!" Anyway, my Amazon is in the jail right now, probably going to make it to Andariel sooner or later.

 

[crazy_bear]

[highlight]Team Toasted_Nuts (crazy_bear) [highlight]– 143 points
Destroyer Hazelnut - (Amazon - Passive/Bow) – lvl 64 – Act V NM
Last Quest completed: Defeated Shenk (53 pts)
Walnut - (Druid - Summon/Elem.) – lvl 33 – Act IV Nml – R.I.P Diablo (20 pts)
Conqueror Peanut - (Sorc - Cold/Light.) – lvl 78 – Act I Hell - RIP Pits lvl 2(CE/Cursed boss archer pack, CI/LI = ouch)
Last Quest completed: Countess (70 pts)

Well, I went and lost Peanut to pack in the pits. I had cleared much of the area around the entrance, when suddenly the Amp comes on, and my merc drops dead. I TP, ressurect, and return. I carefully made my way towards the pack, engage, and then part way through the slaughter my merc decides to wander off and before I can get out of the way deeds are up. Strangely, I didn't find myself all that disappointed. I guess I'm getting desensitized to HC deaths. Also, there were a couple wasted points I'd be happy to fix with a rebuild. Still, CL/FO seemed to be a pretty good build.

So that leaves only Hazelnut.... hmm. Biggest pain now will be managing her inventory. This could be challenging.

 

[Gouda]

So that leaves only Hazelnut.... hmm. Biggest pain now will be managing her inventory. This could be challenging.

That is a shame! I am sorry to hear the loss, of yet another High lvl hero.
For your inventory, you could use the other chars as 'mules' of some kind, at least for their body slots. Ask Psycho first though, but i don't see any problem with it.

Good luck with Hazel,

Gouda

 

[jiansonz]

[Highlight]Team jiansonz[/Highlight] - 95 points
Destroyer Herne (Druid, Shapeshifting/Summoning) - level 53 - Act 1 NM completed - 37 points
Odysseus (Paladin, Offensive/Defensive) - level 35 - Harrogath - 21 points
Destroyer Elayna (Assassin, Martial Arts/Shadow Disciplines) - level 53 - Act 1 NM completed - 37 points


Elayna had no major problems during the rest of act 1. I find that I bring out the Shadow Master more and more. Because I am greedy with MF, I have decided to keep her at level 10 until I face NM Ancients (if I get there...). This keeps her from getting rare weapons and it will prevent her from "stealing" too many kills from the merc (his +140% MF is not working on her kills).

As I have never had one for very long before, I am fascinated by the shadow. Sometimes I just sit and watch what she is doing. I have two questions regarding her skills:

* Sometimes she can completely freeze a pack of monsters. Really cool (and useful). I figure it must be Blades of Ice, but what charge # is that?

* She also has a very large "spiralling outward" Chain Lightning going. Is that the second Phoenix Strike charge or is it Claws of Thunder and if so, what charge number? I don´t know if it´s particularly effective, but it looks awesome!

Sometimes when I summon her, she will go 'Burst of Speed' 'Blade Shield' 'Venom' in about two seconds. Gotta love that "Let´s Rock!"-attitude. :lol:


When Elayna continues her adventure, I think I will have to ease up in her MF and get more resists. Can´t have 34/-2/15 in act 2, with all those beetles. Greed killed one of my tourney characters: Stabinia the Psycho Daggerzon.
(Elayna currently has +254% MF for her own kills and when opening containers, and +394% for Sigemund´s kills...)



Back to act 5 Normal, for the third time.
(Big sigh!)

I hope Odysseus can find a Shael (or two Sols) before he has caught up with the others.

 

[nemar]

[HIGHLIGHT]Team HALL OF FAME[/HIGHLIGHT] – 192 points


Conqueror Andariel - Necromancer - Summon / curses – lvl 74 - 63 points – actV - nm
Conqueror Baal ......- Assasin - Trap / Passive .......... – lvl 72 - 63 points – actV - nm
Conqueror Diablo ...- Amazon - Passive / bow .......... – lvl 70 - 66 points – actI - Hell
Be Afraid, we are back ! !

Character Rewards :
Andariel : Jewellery & armor
Baal : Jewellery & armor
Diablo : Gloves & Jewellery

Last news from week end :
3 conqueror right now and a cow killed. a second fall run dropped in act IV but baal was very poor with the droop and the same with reward from anya.
anyway baal found at anya shop a lovely amulet
+1 to amazon skill
+39 resist cold
+7% mana leach (perfect for me)

no run right now, and we can see the distinction with player8 player5 and player3

be serious and stay alive

 

[erimatbrad]

Well, I went and lost Peanut to pack in the pits.

Ouch -- my condolences. I did one pit run on p8, and decided not to continue due to difficulty. She did have an easier time of it in the Ancient Tunnels, but I still had enough issues to decide to keep on walking. Good luck with your remaining character!

[highlight]Team Eddings (erimatbrad)[/highlight] - 229 points
Conqueror Polgara - (Sorc - Light./Cold) - lvl 81 - Act III Hell
Conqueror Liselle - (Amazon - Jav./Passive) - lvl 72 - Act II Hell
Conqueror Zedar - (Necro – P&B/Curse) - lvl 65 - Act II Hell

The only bad part about Act II is that you can make progress and have it not look like it.

Liselle is chilling in the later part of the outdoor areas, while I run for money and try to gamble something with teleport charges to help her get through the Maggot Lair. I've already spent a million, and nothing yet....

 

[jiansonz]

Liselle is chilling in the later part of the outdoor areas, while I run for money and try to gamble something with teleport charges to help her get through the Maggot Lair. I've already spent a million, and nothing yet....

I don´t see why she should need it there. The enemies line up nicely in the Lair, perfect for piercing attacks. If you have a tanking merc, he can take on almost anything in those narrow hallways (since only one monster at a time can attack him). I think Maggot Lair is one of the least dangerous parts in the entire Hell difficulty. The only real dangers are FE beetle packs and the risk of getting monsters in the back at the 3-way (or 4-way) junctions. Teleporting in the Lair is dangerous (especially with an amazon because of their extremely slow casting speed) unless it´s used backwards only (i.e. back to parts you have secured).

Claw Viper Temple level 2 is another matter. If the altar platform is clear, any character class is well advised to teleport up there. Snakes are too big to pass up the stairs. If you really need this skill, buy a staff with charges of it.

 

[erimatbrad]

I don´t see why she should need it there. The enemies line up nicely in the Lair, perfect for piercing attacks.

The only problem being I've made her, more or less, pure lightning. I do have a Kuko in my stash that I'm considering using, though.

If you have a tanking merc, he can take on almost anything in those narrow hallways (since only one monster at a time can attack him).

I'd appreciate if you could tell my merc that he can take on almost anything in the Lair -- I don't think he believes you, because he likes to fall over dead a little too much for my liking. I really need to up his (and Liselle's!) resistances. The largest part of my problem is I'm impatient. Very impatient. I'll have to find something to keep me relaxed while waiting for the tanking duo to solve my problems...

Claw Viper Temple level 2 is another matter. If the altar platform is clear, any character class is well advised to teleport up there. Snakes are too big to pass up the stairs. If you really need this skill, buy a staff with charges of it.

...I could buy a staff! Why didn't I think of this... and it really would come in handy for CVT2, I think. I'm totally not digging these LIs, and am very tempted to dump the remaining skills I have into Poison/Plague Jav, although it's really a little too late to start making a change.

 

[Hiedran]

The only problem being I've made her, more or less, pure lightning. I do have a Kuko in my stash that I'm considering using, though.

Lightning strike or lightning fury? If LF, the javelin can pierce and each time the physical javelin hits an enemy it will spawn more bolts (slvl+1) aimed at the enemies. Rapid death.

LS, though, and you're hosed. (Not that I have any real experience with LS.)

 

[Hiedran]

As I have never had one for very long before, I am fascinated by the shadow. Sometimes I just sit and watch what she is doing. I have two questions regarding her skills:

* Sometimes she can completely freeze a pack of monsters. Really cool (and useful). I figure it must be Blades of Ice, but what charge # is that?

Charge #3.

Charge 1: Add cold damage
Charge 2: Chills in 4 yard radius
Charge 3: Freezes in 4 yard radius for increasing time with points

* She also has a very large "spiralling outward" Chain Lightning going. Is that the second Phoenix Strike charge or is it Claws of Thunder and if so, what charge number? I don´t know if it´s particularly effective, but it looks awesome!

Second Phoenix Strike. I don't know how effective it is yet. I'm maxing D.tail right now, with PS after that, and finally raising Shadow Master and one PS synergy. I'm really starting to think that the freeze time of the chaos bolts (charge 3) isn't worth increasing the Blades of Ice synergy and will instead max Claws of Thunder for an extra 260% dmg to the Lightning charge.

If my calculations are right, the chain lightning charge of PS will do 1-3009 damage fully synergized. (836 + (836 * 2.6)) Though chain lightning really is a misnomer since the lightning doesn't jump from target to target.

 

[erimatbrad]

Lightning strike or lightning fury? If LF, the javelin can pierce and each time the physical javelin hits an enemy it will spawn more bolts (slvl+1) aimed at the enemies. Rapid death.

LS, though, and you're hosed. (Not that I have any real experience with LS.)

It's LF. She's fine with enemies that aren't LI, but when they are, she takes a while to kill (because her javs are fairly low damage, and I don't have a lot of +dmg charms). Maybe I'm just impatient, though.

 

[Hiedran]

It's LF. She's fine with enemies that aren't LI, but when they are, she takes a while to kill (because her javs are fairly low damage, and I don't have a lot of +dmg charms). Maybe I'm just impatient, though.

It would also help if I remembered that the scarab demons were LI.

 

[AndiDi]

[highlight]Team Bavarian Forest (AndiDi) [/highlight] – 97 points
Resl – (Amazon – Passive/Bow) – lvl 24 – Act II Nml - 11 points - R.I.P. Duriel
Destroyer Hias – (Necro – Summon/Curses) – lvl 50 – Act II NM - 37 points
Destroyer Sepp – (Paladin – Combat/Offensive) – lvl 62 – Act III NM - 49 points

Hias: WP: Lut Gholein - Flirting with Atma
Sepp: WP: Kurast Docks - Toying with Mephistos Soulstone

Originally I planed for Hias to follow Sepp into Kurast before entering Act III with Sepp, but as I made good progress with Sepp I decided to move him into the Jungle. Sepp made short work of these Flayer guys and all the other monsters in Act III. In the Jungle I found the Skin of Vipermagi, that I wanted so badly for Hias (After I checked Atma's drop calculator, I now consider myself a lucky bastard).
Down in the Flayer Dungeon, I had a hard time finding that glowing chest. It wasn't located near the witchdoctor, but in a center room of the dungeon. I have never see a map like that. Talking about wierd maps: The entrance to Lower Kurast is normaly seperated by a stony bridge from the jungle, not so in this map.
On into Kurast, there wasn't much to report. The Council gave me a nice NDE. After that Sepp ventured into the Durance, where I got a bad map for Mephisto running. But in the the end I found the exit to Level 3 and killed Mephisto with using only one red potion for the merc. As usually with my Act-End-Bosses in this Tourney, Mephisto dropped only yellow items, none of them were any good for Sepp or Hias.

Recent Set/Unique Items:
- Tancred's Crowbill (The second)
- Ripsaw
- Skin of the Vipermagi
- Hwanin's Blessing
- Hsarus' Iron Stay (The second)
- Isenhart's Horns
- Civerb's Ward
- Darkglow

 

[Hiedran]

[highlight]Team Melee (Hiedran)[/highlight] - 117 points
Destroyer Axe - (Druid - Shape/Summon) - Lvl 48 - Act II NM - 37 points
Destroyer Claw - (Assassin - MA/Shadow) - Lvl 52 - Act II NM - 37 points
Destroyer Mace - (Paladin - Combat/Offensive) - Lvl 58 - Act III NM - 43 points

Mace picked up Arcanna's Deathwand from Duriel. That big bug was easily squished. I found it amusing that Mace had to tank for the merc. Life bulb never dropped below 50% at 450 life. But since Mace has 75% block with L17 Holy Shield, he's not exactly easy to touch.

Not even hordes of scarab demons scare Mace, though they can rip apart the merc. Here is a shot of a champion pack + a boss pack of scarabs + a boss pack of vampires, with no room for Mace to go anywhere and TP back to town to res my merc. The life leech on Bloodrise is amazing in NM.

 

[kramph]

Team Marvel (kramph) – 81 points
Destroyer Red Skull – (Necromancer – Summoning/Curses) – lvl 50 – Act I NM – 30 points
Destroyer Emma Frost – (Sorceress – Cold/Lightning) – lvl 50 – Act I NM – 30 points
Jubilee – (Amazon – Bow/Passive) – lvl 30 – Act V Nml – 21 points

Prize Stash (56) – Set Items (34); Unique Items (22)

Emma has made Destroyer and finished off the Cow King. The Cow King or someone close by (it was hard to tell in the Blizzard) dropped the Cow King Hide. I don't have one those, and now I still don't. :uhhuh:

 

[angiras]

Quote: "It's LF. She's fine with enemies that aren't LI, but when they are, she takes a while to kill (because her javs are fairly low damage, and I don't have a lot of +dmg charms). Maybe I'm just impatient, though."

Maggot lair is simply a pain. My zon made it thru ok because she is using titans found under a rock in cold plains. So her phys dmg is pretty good. She simply cast her valk in front to block the beetles and hit them with plague javelin. Took a while, and had to recast valk many times, but in the end it worked...with many trips to town for mana pots.

Going thru maggot with my necro, on the other hand, was sheer agony. Can we use teleport charges on an ammy or staff? Sure would have made things easier. But I didnt think that was allowed.

 

[erimatbrad]

Going thru maggot with my necro, on the other hand, was sheer agony. Can we use teleport charges on an ammy or staff? Sure would have made things easier. But I didnt think that was allowed.

You can use items with charges, but you couldn't use the skill if it was granted by an item (Enigma) and you didn't have the lightning skills tree.

I'm less worried about my necro, because I *know* it'll be a slow process with him, but I'll just imprison and spear anything that gets in his way and not come close to dying. Maybe I'll use my mighty 7 points in PJ to kill a few bugs tonight...