Diablo IV, Diablo 2 and Diablo 3 Forums - Diabloii.Net
A Christmas Guardian.
Guardian VeeFour was plenty of fun to play. Kuko Shakaku's Exploding Arrows combined with Holy Fire aura to give a ranged AoE attack that cleaned up pretty much everything that wasn't fire immune and then Vengeance/Conviction with Obedience for dealing with those pesky FIs and for taking down Bosses.
Twinked (poor man style), two-handed, players 5 for Normal and Nightmare, p1 for Hell. An Act 1 Ice Rogue for something different and to allow Vigor aura from Harmony to keep things moving.
Stats:
LCS with Bow and Enchant
LCS with Obedience and Enchant
Skills:
Gear:
Charms:
Mercenary:
As I've already mentioned, this was fun. Ranged AoE stops the Paladin from having to plod through much of the game. Exploding Arrows and Holy Fire take care of almost everything except Act Bosses in Normal and NM. Vengeance gets increasingly used throughout Hell, until it is used almost exclusively in some parts of Acts 4 and 5 (depending on what monsters spawned).
Plenty of IAS was equipped to give good attack speeds for both VeeFour and the merc. 10fpa for Vengenace, the Exploding Arrows and for the merc.
Nothing was immune to VeeFour's attacks, nothing was immune to the merc's attacks either. With both of us raining death down upon the monsters, they generally didn't last long. Ranged attackers did cause us a few problems thanks to no shield, but you don't really need to worry about aiming too much with exploding arrows, so once I knew roughly where they were I could often move back out of their range and pepper from afar. Razor Spines and Vile Witches (and their kin) caused me the greatest grief (fast attacks and long range), caused more than a few merc deaths and took some careful dancing to take down if they were in large packs.
It was my first time to play a Rogue right through the game and I was pretty happy with her. Harmony gives her some great killing potential and the Vigor aura means we both race around happily. The slow from Blackhorn's Face changes the nature of Boss fights and the merc's tendency to target the closest monster meant that in general play a lot of monsters would end up slowed. Treachery gave plenty of IAS and Fade for resists, when it triggered.
(Of the Act 2 mercs I would normally have used, Blessed Aim would probably have been the most useful, but I'm not sure it would have been better than Vigor, that extra speed allowed VeeFour to get into great position for shooting and dodging and I really noticed the difference when the merc died and it was no longer there.)
With the merc aiming for the closest monster, I'd generally aim for ones further away, especially trying to take out any ranged attackers that were around. The merc was pretty good at picking off the close ones and killing them before they could attack VeeFour. Often if they did get too close, they would walk into VeeFour's line of fire anyway, and it was fairly rare that I would have to change target in self-defence.
Issues:
Life was a lot lower than I would have liked. Having to put points into both Strength and Dexterity meant there were just a lot less to go into Vitality, so hence less life. Halfway through Act 5 I swapped out some MF charms for an extra 100 life. I don't think I ever needed it, but it sure was nice having that extra breathing room.
Attack Rating. This sucked, the lowest I've Guardianed a non-caster with I think. I didn't want to swap Highlord's for Angelics, so that usual source of AR wasn't an option. Enchant from Obedience was essential (and the extra fire damage was nice too). The explosion from exploding arrows hits anyway, but if you want to pierce and get multiple overlapping explosions to really cause carnage, then you have to hit. This wasn't happening all that much. On switch, Vengeance and Enchant combined to give an adequate but still not great chance of hitting.
Resists. Once Fade from Treachery kicked in they were fine. I'm still getting used to Treachery, so wasn't willing to leave them low and rely on Fade, and I wanted the big IAS boost from Treachery, so didn't want to swap it out for an armour with good resists. Wielding Obedience with Fade active was massive overkill on the resists, but the bow and no Fade was just enough.
Kuko vs Demon Machine. Demon Machine looks pretty good on paper with higher physical damage, great bonus to AR, 66% pierce (Kuko has 50%) and only needing 8 IAS to reach 11fpa. However, Kuko can get to 10 fpa with 75 IAS (9fpa with 125) and has a nice amount of fire damage which transfers to the explosions. It is this extra fire damage that really makes it stand out and I needed the extra IAS for vengeance anyway.
Obedience vs anything else. I really wanted to use a fancier runeword on switch for Vengeance, particularly something like Oath with lots of IAS would have been nice. However, the Enchant from Obedience giving a big bonus to AR, as well as extra fire damage, was too good to pass up, particularly for what it did to the exploding arrows. I suppose I could have used Obedience until Enchant triggered and then switched to Oath or Death or whatever … but I really can't be bothered with that and Obedience did work just fine (perhaps more than just).
NDEs:
None really. Which was surprising given the low life he had throughout the game. Knockback on the bow worked great at keeping monsters away and I was pretty careful anywhere that there were ranged attackers.
Finds:
Gimmershred; Jade Talon; Lo rune;
Future Plans:
This is one I'll definitely come back to. He has a good AT map and while not ripping through the tunnels like a teleporting blizz-sorc, he gets through them without having any dramas. But any area, especially those without FIs, can be done pretty quickly and bosses are a breeze. Probably wont be doing lots of Trav runs though, or RoF or CS.
Also, if I ever find a Ber (and decide not to save it for Enigma), then I'd like to make Dragon rw armour so I can have both Holy Fire and Conviction running at the same time as the Exploding Arrows. That could be very exciting indeed! The 20 points from Holy Fire could then go into Salvation to synergise both HF and Vengeance, nice.
Guardian VeeFour was plenty of fun to play. Kuko Shakaku's Exploding Arrows combined with Holy Fire aura to give a ranged AoE attack that cleaned up pretty much everything that wasn't fire immune and then Vengeance/Conviction with Obedience for dealing with those pesky FIs and for taking down Bosses.
Twinked (poor man style), two-handed, players 5 for Normal and Nightmare, p1 for Hell. An Act 1 Ice Rogue for something different and to allow Vigor aura from Harmony to keep things moving.
Stats:
Code:
Name: VeeFour
Class: Paladin
Experience: 928518845
Level: 83
Naked/Gear
Strength: 122/123 (133 on switch)
Dexterity: 171/188 (198 on switch)
Vitality: 202/217
Energy: 15/15
HP: 810/976
Mana: 138/178
Stamina: 348/348
Defense: 42/897 (1150 on switch)
AR: 840/1106 (3699 on switch) / (3318 and 6011 with Enchant)
Fire: 178/138/78 (85 on switch)
Cold: 149/109/49 (72 on switch)
Lightning: 171/131/71 (76 on switch)
Poison: 86/46/-14 (9 on switch)
Damage: Bow 718-1321 (1097-1742 with Enchant)
Obedience 600-6988 (979-7379 with Enchant)
MF: 38 Block: 31
GF: 183
FR/W: 40
FHR: 50
IAS: 100
FCR: 0LCS with Obedience and Enchant
Skills:
Code:
Sacrifice: 1/2
Smite: 0/0
Holy Bolt: 0/0
Zeal: 1/2
Charge: 0/0
Vengeance: 20/21
Blessed Hammer: 0/0
Conversion: 0/0
Holy Shield: 0/0
Fist of the Heavens: 0/0
Might: 1/2
Holy Fire: 20/21
Thorns: 1/2
Blessed Aim: 0/0
Concentration: 0/0
Holy Freeze: 1/2
Holy Shock: 0/0
Sanctuary: 1/2
Fanaticism: 0/0
Conviction: 20/21
Prayer: 1/2
Resist Fire: 20/21
Defiance: 1/2
Resist Cold: 0/0
Cleansing: 1/2
Resist Lightning: 3/4
Vigor: 1/2
Meditation: 0/0
Redemption: 1/2
Salvation: 0/0Gear:
Code:
VeeFour's Kuko Shakaku
Shadow Bow
Two Hand Damage: 37 - 148
Durability: 15 of 28
Required Level: 54
Required Strength: 52
Required Dexterity: 188
Fingerprint: 0xf304d93d
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to Bow and Crossbow Skills (Amazon Only)
Fires Explosive Arrows or Bolts
Piercing Attack
151% Enhanced Damage
Adds 40 - 180 Fire Damage
+3 to Immolation Arrow (Amazon Only)
Knockback
Required Level +7
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Nef Rune
VeeFour's Obedience
Thresher
HelKoThulEthFal
Two Hand Damage: 56 - 662
Durability: 65 of 65
Required Level: 53
Required Strength: 122
Required Dexterity: 95
Fingerprint: 0xda03ffe6
Item Level: 82
Version: Expansion 1.10+
30% Chance to cast level 21 Enchant when you Kill an Enemy
+40% Faster Hit Recovery
370% Enhanced Damage
-25% Target Defense
Adds 3 - 14 Cold Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
-25% to Enemy Fire Resistance
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
+251 Defense
+10 to Strength
+10 to Dexterity
All Resistances +23
Requirements -20%
5 Sockets (5 used)
Socketed: Hel Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Eth Rune
Socketed: Fal Rune
Rockstopper
Sallet
Defense: 178
Durability: 18 of 18
Required Level: 31
Required Strength: 43
Fingerprint: 0x6d730d98
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
+30% Faster Hit Recovery
+183% Enhanced Defense
+15 to Vitality
Cold Resist +34%
Lightning Resist +31%
Fire Resist +40%
Damage Reduced by 10%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Camphor Jewel of Fervor
Camphor Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0xf379b49
Item Level: 44
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
Lightning Resist +8%
Treachery
Scarab Husk
ShaelThulLem
Defense: 467
Durability: 28 of 28
Required Level: 51
Required Strength: 95
Fingerprint: 0x5b871241
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 15 Fade when struck
25% Chance to cast level 15 Venom on striking
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune
Laying of Hands
Bramble Mitts
Defense: 87
Durability: 12 of 12
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x5d6a6909
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Chance to cast level 3 Holy Bolt on striking
+20% Increased Attack Speed
+350% Damage to Demons
+25 Defense
Fire Resist +50%
String of Ears
Demonhide Sash
Defense: 110
Durability: 22 of 22
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 20
Fingerprint: 0xbfe1c876
Item Level: 43
Version: Expansion 1.10+
7% Life stolen per hit
+173% Enhanced Defense
+15 Defense
Damage Reduced by 14%
Magic Damage Reduced by 12
+10 Maximum Durability
Stone Tread
Heavy Boots
Defense: 8
Durability: 14 of 14
Required Level: 29
Required Strength: 18
Fingerprint: 0xea1f898a
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+23% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +18%
Fire Resist +33%
Highlord's Wrath
Amulet
Required Level: 65
Fingerprint: 0x2bcd986f
Item Level: 78
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+20% Increased Attack Speed
Adds 1 - 30 Lightning Damage
31% Deadly Strike (Based on Character Level)
Lightning Resist +35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 15
Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0xa328ad5b
Item Level: 73
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+150 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+17 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen
Bitter Gyre
Ring
Required Level: 46
Fingerprint: 0x13981755
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+16 to Attack Rating
4% Mana stolen per hit
4% Life stolen per hit
+1 to Strength
Cold Resist +26%
Lightning Resist +16%Charms:
Code:
Gheed's Fortune
Grand Charm
Required Level: 62
Fingerprint: 0xd9ab49e8
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
133% Extra Gold from Monsters
Reduces all Vendor Prices 10%
23% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Shimmering Grand Charm of Inertia
Grand Charm
Required Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0x3205858f
Item Level: 31
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+7% Faster Run/Walk
All Resistances +8
Amber Grand Charm of Storms
Grand Charm
Required Level: 22
Fingerprint: 0xaad8980c
Item Level: 68
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 27 Lightning Damage
Lightning Resist +28%
Emerald Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 22
Fingerprint: 0x55e3046c
Item Level: 57
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10 to Life
Poison Resist +30%
Shimmering Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 25
Fingerprint: 0x37c5a26f
Item Level: 66
Version: Expansion 1.10+
All Resistances +3
Jade Small Charm of Inertia
Small Charm
Required Level: 27
Fingerprint: 0x84ac2558
Item Level: 64
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3% Faster Run/Walk
Poison Resist +8%
Coral Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0xd0a40f26
Item Level: 79
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Lightning Resist +9%
Small Charm of Good Luck
Small Charm
Required Level: 33
Fingerprint: 0xe7052767
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
6% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Snowy Small Charm of Fortune
Small Charm
Required Level: 20
Fingerprint: 0xc8118970
Item Level: 46
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 3 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
5% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Tangerine Small Charm of Fortune
Small Charm
Required Level: 18
Fingerprint: 0xa3d1f66
Item Level: 49
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Lightning Resist +5%
4% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Garnet Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xd6a557ad
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Fire Resist +8%
Ocher Small Charm of Life
Small Charm
Required Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0xd5ec6aac
Item Level: 50
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+9 to Life
Lightning Resist +6%
Viridian Small Charm of Life
Small Charm
Required Level: 14
Fingerprint: 0xa881c347
Item Level: 28
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10 to Life
Poison Resist +7%
Iron Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x29a377f
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15 to Attack Rating
+19 to Life
Snowy Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0x4b8cfd08
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 2 - 3 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (25 Frames)
+18 to Life
Small Charm of Vita
Small Charm
Required Level: 39
Fingerprint: 0xaef6e671
Item Level: 84
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+20 to Life
Russet Small Charm of Sustenance
Small Charm
Required Level: 17
Fingerprint: 0x7c460119
Item Level: 39
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15 to Life
Fire Resist +6%Mercenary:
Code:
Name: Raissa
Race: Rogue Scout
Type: Ice - Normal
Experience: 60766198
Level: 83
Dead?: false
Naked/Gear
Strength: 136/136
Dexterity: 205/215
HP: 1380/1380
Defense: 1147/1857
AR: 2212/2212
Fire: 141/101/41
Cold: 171/131/71
Lightning: 156/116/56
Poison: 141/101/41
Harmony
Blade Bow
TirIthSolKo
Two Hand Damage: 79 - 146
Durability: 16 of 32
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 76
Required Dexterity: 119
Fingerprint: 0xc1a4a78e
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Level 10 Vigor Aura When Equipped
235% Enhanced Damage
+9 to Minimum Damage
+9 to Maximum Damage
Adds 55 - 160 Fire Damage
Adds 55 - 160 Lightning Damage
Adds 55 - 160 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (104 Frames)
+6 to Valkyrie
+10 to Dexterity
Regenerate Mana 20%
+2 to Mana after each Kill
+2 to Light Radius
Level 20 Revive (25/25 Charges)
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Tir Rune
Socketed: Ith Rune
Socketed: Sol Rune
Socketed: Ko Rune
Treachery
Dusk Shroud
ShaelThulLem
Defense: 444
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 49
Required Strength: 77
Fingerprint: 0x191b6652
Item Level: 76
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 15 Fade when struck
25% Chance to cast level 15 Venom on striking
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune
Blackhorn's Face
Death Mask
Defense: 266
Durability: 20 of 20
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x304f8e37
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack Speed
Prevent Monster Heal
Slows Target by 20%
+206% Enhanced Defense
Lightning Resist +15%
+20 Lightning Absorb
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 25
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Jewel of Fervor
Jewel of Fervor
Jewel
Required Level: 31
Fingerprint: 0x2adc7835
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+15% Increased Attack SpeedAs I've already mentioned, this was fun. Ranged AoE stops the Paladin from having to plod through much of the game. Exploding Arrows and Holy Fire take care of almost everything except Act Bosses in Normal and NM. Vengeance gets increasingly used throughout Hell, until it is used almost exclusively in some parts of Acts 4 and 5 (depending on what monsters spawned).
Plenty of IAS was equipped to give good attack speeds for both VeeFour and the merc. 10fpa for Vengenace, the Exploding Arrows and for the merc.
Nothing was immune to VeeFour's attacks, nothing was immune to the merc's attacks either. With both of us raining death down upon the monsters, they generally didn't last long. Ranged attackers did cause us a few problems thanks to no shield, but you don't really need to worry about aiming too much with exploding arrows, so once I knew roughly where they were I could often move back out of their range and pepper from afar. Razor Spines and Vile Witches (and their kin) caused me the greatest grief (fast attacks and long range), caused more than a few merc deaths and took some careful dancing to take down if they were in large packs.
It was my first time to play a Rogue right through the game and I was pretty happy with her. Harmony gives her some great killing potential and the Vigor aura means we both race around happily. The slow from Blackhorn's Face changes the nature of Boss fights and the merc's tendency to target the closest monster meant that in general play a lot of monsters would end up slowed. Treachery gave plenty of IAS and Fade for resists, when it triggered.
(Of the Act 2 mercs I would normally have used, Blessed Aim would probably have been the most useful, but I'm not sure it would have been better than Vigor, that extra speed allowed VeeFour to get into great position for shooting and dodging and I really noticed the difference when the merc died and it was no longer there.)
With the merc aiming for the closest monster, I'd generally aim for ones further away, especially trying to take out any ranged attackers that were around. The merc was pretty good at picking off the close ones and killing them before they could attack VeeFour. Often if they did get too close, they would walk into VeeFour's line of fire anyway, and it was fairly rare that I would have to change target in self-defence.
Issues:
Life was a lot lower than I would have liked. Having to put points into both Strength and Dexterity meant there were just a lot less to go into Vitality, so hence less life. Halfway through Act 5 I swapped out some MF charms for an extra 100 life. I don't think I ever needed it, but it sure was nice having that extra breathing room.
Attack Rating. This sucked, the lowest I've Guardianed a non-caster with I think. I didn't want to swap Highlord's for Angelics, so that usual source of AR wasn't an option. Enchant from Obedience was essential (and the extra fire damage was nice too). The explosion from exploding arrows hits anyway, but if you want to pierce and get multiple overlapping explosions to really cause carnage, then you have to hit. This wasn't happening all that much. On switch, Vengeance and Enchant combined to give an adequate but still not great chance of hitting.
Resists. Once Fade from Treachery kicked in they were fine. I'm still getting used to Treachery, so wasn't willing to leave them low and rely on Fade, and I wanted the big IAS boost from Treachery, so didn't want to swap it out for an armour with good resists. Wielding Obedience with Fade active was massive overkill on the resists, but the bow and no Fade was just enough.
Kuko vs Demon Machine. Demon Machine looks pretty good on paper with higher physical damage, great bonus to AR, 66% pierce (Kuko has 50%) and only needing 8 IAS to reach 11fpa. However, Kuko can get to 10 fpa with 75 IAS (9fpa with 125) and has a nice amount of fire damage which transfers to the explosions. It is this extra fire damage that really makes it stand out and I needed the extra IAS for vengeance anyway.
Obedience vs anything else. I really wanted to use a fancier runeword on switch for Vengeance, particularly something like Oath with lots of IAS would have been nice. However, the Enchant from Obedience giving a big bonus to AR, as well as extra fire damage, was too good to pass up, particularly for what it did to the exploding arrows. I suppose I could have used Obedience until Enchant triggered and then switched to Oath or Death or whatever … but I really can't be bothered with that and Obedience did work just fine (perhaps more than just).
NDEs:
None really. Which was surprising given the low life he had throughout the game. Knockback on the bow worked great at keeping monsters away and I was pretty careful anywhere that there were ranged attackers.
Finds:
Gimmershred; Jade Talon; Lo rune;
Future Plans:
This is one I'll definitely come back to. He has a good AT map and while not ripping through the tunnels like a teleporting blizz-sorc, he gets through them without having any dramas. But any area, especially those without FIs, can be done pretty quickly and bosses are a breeze. Probably wont be doing lots of Trav runs though, or RoF or CS.
Also, if I ever find a Ber (and decide not to save it for Enigma), then I'd like to make Dragon rw armour so I can have both Holy Fire and Conviction running at the same time as the Exploding Arrows. That could be very exciting indeed! The 20 points from Holy Fire could then go into Salvation to synergise both HF and Vengeance, nice.