[highlight]Team Subheroes (Vildecor)[/highlight] – 135 points
Conqueror Stick_Tosser - (Amazon – Jav./Passive) – lvl 67 – Act V NM (66 points)
Destroyer Mr_Bone - (Necro - P&B/Curse) – lvl 58 – Act IV NM (49 points)
The_Weathergirl - (Sorc - Light./Cold) – lvl 28 – Act IV Nml – R.I.P Diablo (20 points)
For Exhibition Only:
Destroyer The_Weathergirl - (Sorc - Light./Cold) - lvl 58 - Act IV NM (49 non-point points)
For the second time only, I have gotten a HC character through NM difficulty. There were only a few times Stick_Tosser was in danger throughout Act V. The first sign of trouble was in the last level of Nihlathak's Temple, where her party was confronted by Tomb Vipers. Needless to say, she had to finish clearing that level of all Tomb Vipers before reviving her mercenary and taking on Nihlathak. With Venom Grip Demonhide Gloves, her Poison Resist was 80%, but it was still alarming watching her life drain away moderately quickly while fighting the Tomb Vipers...so she played it safe, using Decoy and staying behind her Valk while Tossing her sticks from afar.
Fighting Nihlathak himself was much easier. Most of his minions were lured away and killed, and when his chamber was mostly clear, Stick_Tosser ran straight to him and began jabbing away, using Lightning Fury every now and then to help clear away straggling minions. Nihlathak fell in under 30 seconds. She did take one corpse explosion hit before getting to him, but it only lowered her life bar 1/3 of the way. I'm not excited to see how much it would do in Hell--I'd rather not chance it. If she gets there, she'll do this quest with MUCH more care.
The Icy Cellar had a small population of Undead Stygian Dolls, unbeknownst to Stick_Tosser. Standing at the edge of a mob and releasing Lightning Fury, her life bulb dropped around 2/3 of full, hearing a familiar "popping" noise. Well, now she knew there were dangerous critters here. In fact, the group of undead idgits was Fire Enchanted. At least the boss was still alive and nowhere near her. It could have been Game Over otherwise.
The Ancients had to be re-rolled a few times, because Stick_Tosser didn't want to fight any Extra Strong or Cursed Ancients, and definitely not both at once (first appearance). By the third or fourth time, she faced a Mana Burn Korlic, a Stone Skin Madawc, and an Aura Enchanted Talic (unsure which aura...as all she could see was Madawc's Shout aura). The Mana Burn was annoying, but he was the first target, and died shortly after using all four mana potions. Jabbing Madawc to around half his life refilled most of her mana, and she started using Plague Javelins to help finish him off while her merc and Valk were working on Talic. In short order, both were soon felled.
The Worldstone Keep levels and Throne Room weren't very dangerous. A few frenzytaurs and some Oblivion Knights, but nothing that couldn't be handled (i.e. fried to death). Baal never cloned himself and thus was not much of a challenge. Stick_Tosser mainly used Plague Javelins (when she had enough mana), and spent the time in between castings jabbing away at the prime evil. 5% crushing blow is better than 0%, so the fight at least didn't take 10 minutes.
Saving the Rogue Encampment from an imminent invasion of Hell Bovines let Stick_Tosser relieve some of the stress from her travels, turning cow after cow into hamburger meat. She had to give the Lightning Immune Cow King a taste of Mad Cow Disease in the form of Plague Javelin...such a shame, he'd have made an excellent Big Mac.
The sets/uniques found during this leg were: Cathan's Seal, Isenhart's Case and Parry, Infernal Torch, Rite of Passage, Wilhelm's Pride, Skystrike, and Woestave (eth). The latter two are staying with Stick_Tosser, as they will most likely be used for her mercenary and for Mr_Bone's, when he joins her in Hell Difficulty. The Skystrike will be much appreciated by Meghan, Mr_Bone's Fire Rogue, but whether or not Woestave will be used depends on whether or not Mr_Bone can find anything better during his Conqueror run. If not, Woestave will be upgraded to a Bec-de-Corbin, socketed with an Amn rune, and given to Stick_Tosser's Might mercenary, Fazel.
Stay alive and have fun!
Conqueror Stick_Tosser - (Amazon – Jav./Passive) – lvl 67 – Act V NM (66 points)
Destroyer Mr_Bone - (Necro - P&B/Curse) – lvl 58 – Act IV NM (49 points)
The_Weathergirl - (Sorc - Light./Cold) – lvl 28 – Act IV Nml – R.I.P Diablo (20 points)
For Exhibition Only:
Destroyer The_Weathergirl - (Sorc - Light./Cold) - lvl 58 - Act IV NM (49 non-point points)
For the second time only, I have gotten a HC character through NM difficulty. There were only a few times Stick_Tosser was in danger throughout Act V. The first sign of trouble was in the last level of Nihlathak's Temple, where her party was confronted by Tomb Vipers. Needless to say, she had to finish clearing that level of all Tomb Vipers before reviving her mercenary and taking on Nihlathak. With Venom Grip Demonhide Gloves, her Poison Resist was 80%, but it was still alarming watching her life drain away moderately quickly while fighting the Tomb Vipers...so she played it safe, using Decoy and staying behind her Valk while Tossing her sticks from afar.
Fighting Nihlathak himself was much easier. Most of his minions were lured away and killed, and when his chamber was mostly clear, Stick_Tosser ran straight to him and began jabbing away, using Lightning Fury every now and then to help clear away straggling minions. Nihlathak fell in under 30 seconds. She did take one corpse explosion hit before getting to him, but it only lowered her life bar 1/3 of the way. I'm not excited to see how much it would do in Hell--I'd rather not chance it. If she gets there, she'll do this quest with MUCH more care.
The Icy Cellar had a small population of Undead Stygian Dolls, unbeknownst to Stick_Tosser. Standing at the edge of a mob and releasing Lightning Fury, her life bulb dropped around 2/3 of full, hearing a familiar "popping" noise. Well, now she knew there were dangerous critters here. In fact, the group of undead idgits was Fire Enchanted. At least the boss was still alive and nowhere near her. It could have been Game Over otherwise.
The Ancients had to be re-rolled a few times, because Stick_Tosser didn't want to fight any Extra Strong or Cursed Ancients, and definitely not both at once (first appearance). By the third or fourth time, she faced a Mana Burn Korlic, a Stone Skin Madawc, and an Aura Enchanted Talic (unsure which aura...as all she could see was Madawc's Shout aura). The Mana Burn was annoying, but he was the first target, and died shortly after using all four mana potions. Jabbing Madawc to around half his life refilled most of her mana, and she started using Plague Javelins to help finish him off while her merc and Valk were working on Talic. In short order, both were soon felled.
The Worldstone Keep levels and Throne Room weren't very dangerous. A few frenzytaurs and some Oblivion Knights, but nothing that couldn't be handled (i.e. fried to death). Baal never cloned himself and thus was not much of a challenge. Stick_Tosser mainly used Plague Javelins (when she had enough mana), and spent the time in between castings jabbing away at the prime evil. 5% crushing blow is better than 0%, so the fight at least didn't take 10 minutes.
Saving the Rogue Encampment from an imminent invasion of Hell Bovines let Stick_Tosser relieve some of the stress from her travels, turning cow after cow into hamburger meat. She had to give the Lightning Immune Cow King a taste of Mad Cow Disease in the form of Plague Javelin...such a shame, he'd have made an excellent Big Mac.
The sets/uniques found during this leg were: Cathan's Seal, Isenhart's Case and Parry, Infernal Torch, Rite of Passage, Wilhelm's Pride, Skystrike, and Woestave (eth). The latter two are staying with Stick_Tosser, as they will most likely be used for her mercenary and for Mr_Bone's, when he joins her in Hell Difficulty. The Skystrike will be much appreciated by Meghan, Mr_Bone's Fire Rogue, but whether or not Woestave will be used depends on whether or not Mr_Bone can find anything better during his Conqueror run. If not, Woestave will be upgraded to a Bec-de-Corbin, socketed with an Amn rune, and given to Stick_Tosser's Might mercenary, Fazel.
Stay alive and have fun!
