The Untwinked Level 99 Progress Thread, Revenge of the 99ers
- Thread starter Kitteh
- Start date
I'm starting to believe that I might have underestimated the difficulty of leveling untwinked with berserk, probably should have gone frenzy until after I've farmed NM for a bit. Well, too late now, I'm too stubborn to go about switching now.
Currently I've just about killed Meph at lvl 48 ish and it feels like my best option right now is getting to act5 to farm Shenk and Eldritch. I'm just worried that Big D might be a bit too much at this time. I guess I'll have to farm some more res gear before tackling him. At least things got a bit safer after I made a King's Grace to use with my Rhyme instead of a savage polearm.
Now that I think about it, I think I have an Ancients pledge in my stash so grabbing that instead of Rhyme and cubing some res amulets should get me to satisfying levels on the resists... Smoke should also help if I can find the runes I guess. Any other tips from all you pros?
Edit: RIP @RIP. Hope to see you back rather sooner than later.
Currently I've just about killed Meph at lvl 48 ish and it feels like my best option right now is getting to act5 to farm Shenk and Eldritch. I'm just worried that Big D might be a bit too much at this time. I guess I'll have to farm some more res gear before tackling him. At least things got a bit safer after I made a King's Grace to use with my Rhyme instead of a savage polearm.
Now that I think about it, I think I have an Ancients pledge in my stash so grabbing that instead of Rhyme and cubing some res amulets should get me to satisfying levels on the resists... Smoke should also help if I can find the runes I guess. Any other tips from all you pros?
Edit: RIP @RIP. Hope to see you back rather sooner than later.
T72on1
Diabloii.Net Member
@RIP Sorry to hear that 
. I guess doing some SC for now isn't an option for you? I sincerely hope you stick around. If not in this tournament, then just in general, by doing something non-untwinked 99er related in D2 maybe?
@ffs Great !! Good luck. Knowing you, you'll do tremendously well with Lucid, and maybe even discover some new stuff when it comes to efficiency with this kind of character. Since I'm updating the table for ShouldBeEasy and to include Grapelike, I'll take the liberty to add Lucid to the table as well. The same applies to the new Barbs of @Grape (gotta keep that alert count high ) and @Pb_pal . O yes, and I added your Barb too, @Bobbo. You'll have to adjust / add your details though.
@Bobbo Berserker definitely isn't easy, and certainly not untwinked. You are allowed to respec, but of course that is up to you. A lot of people switch at least one time during their journey towards 99. I'd keep the Rhyme shield if I were you, since it has CBF, faster block and increased block chance. Try to get your resists elsewhere. Eldritch is probably your best bet to level up, and maybe even find some gear while doing so. You'd have to get past CS indeed, which isn't an easy area. It might even be harder than big D himself, since you can avoid his lightning hose by standing on this toes.
@Pb_pal I forget to mention that I agree with you that Frenzy is by far the most fun Barb skill. I just took WW because it's much easier to get other skills, like some Increased Speed, Natural Resistance and FI. Frenzy needs it's synergies to shine, so it's much harder to also include horking, mf gear on the whole, and a few other useful skills.
As for progress. ShouldBeEasy reached level 91 yesterday by doing some more Pit runs. Not sure what I already mentioned here and what not, so here's a short overview.
I spent most of my time in LK, but as I already have said, rune drops Pul+ were (almost) non existent. I found my last Sur at run 1819, and the only other HR after that, a Vex, at run 2388. Right after hitting level 90 I found a Mal, at run 2639. After that, it took me almost 900 runs to find a Pul+, which was ... a Pul rune:
When I finally found a Gul rune at run 3753, but couldn't pick it up because I was being chased by monsters and couldn't reach the rune anymore, nor exit through a tp to come back, that did it for me. I switched equipment and went back to do area runs. After briefly testing CS, Travincal and Eldritch, I settled for Pits. I had quite a good map there and could handle it well on /p8, so it was a clear winner.
I got from level 90 to level 91 quite fast and without too much trouble, although I do have to stay on my toes all the time, as a combination of Amp, Fana and Might on a dual boss pack almost got me deeds. But most of the times it's really safe, and I also got an Ist, Lem and Fal on my way to 91, so that's nice.
Luckily LK wasn't all bad news, as I found a few good items. Not for ShouldBeEasy himself, but still. I had a period where a lot of S/U dropped. Mainly from a corpse in front of the first hut I hit, like this one:
In terms of charms I got a few nice to very nice ones too:
Also this 2/20 Sorc Circlet:
After hitting 91 I've returned to LK. I'm determined to find that Sur/Ber, but we'll see how long that lasts ... At 40s average run times (including stashing, selling, cubing gems and rerolling GCs), I'm at over 40 hours of LK to make an Enigma. Time to get rid of that area and hit up Meph for some essentials and CS (or Pits, if CS is still too hard) after that.
As for Grapelike, I created him yesterday during my lunch break, so on November 22 2018 at 12:22 to be precise.
As I already stated, he will be aiming for Polearms and as such Polearm Mastery from the start, until he can be respecced into dual wielding Oaths or Griefs or something similar. Unless maybe a pair of Bloodletters or Butcher's Pupil's decide to drop, which would almost be a moral imperative to switch earlier.
I mainly played him on /p1 early on, as moving through these early parts fast is important in terms of efficiency. I reran some areas a few times if I got a good map. For example I did Bishibosh a few times on /p5, because he was next to the waypoint. Same for Tristram, because it is an easy place to gain xp, and the WP wasn't too far from the entrance.
As a weapon I started out with buying a Scepter, as those are usually the strongest early on. However, after my first Bardiche dropped, I kept with Polearms from then on.
Best drop from early game was definitely this amazing jewel, the only jewel I have gotten so far:
The plan is to get through to Eldritch as fast as possible and level up there. I might rerun some other targets before that, if I happen on a good map for that. I suspect the part before WW to be really slow though, since the available prereqs for WW (mainly Concentrate at level 18) aren't the fastest killers out there, certainly not untwinked.
* * *
Hall of Fame
Questing Heroes
Resting Heroes
The Fallen
. I guess doing some SC for now isn't an option for you? I sincerely hope you stick around. If not in this tournament, then just in general, by doing something non-untwinked 99er related in D2 maybe?@ffs Great !! Good luck
. Knowing you, you'll do tremendously well with Lucid, and maybe even discover some new stuff when it comes to efficiency with this kind of character. Since I'm updating the table for ShouldBeEasy and to include Grapelike, I'll take the liberty to add Lucid to the table as well. The same applies to the new Barbs of @Grape (gotta keep that alert count high ) and @Pb_pal . O yes, and I added your Barb too, @Bobbo. You'll have to adjust / add your details though.@Bobbo Berserker definitely isn't easy, and certainly not untwinked. You are allowed to respec, but of course that is up to you. A lot of people switch at least one time during their journey towards 99. I'd keep the Rhyme shield if I were you, since it has CBF, faster block and increased block chance. Try to get your resists elsewhere. Eldritch is probably your best bet to level up, and maybe even find some gear while doing so. You'd have to get past CS indeed, which isn't an easy area. It might even be harder than big D himself, since you can avoid his lightning hose by standing on this toes.
@Pb_pal I forget to mention that I agree with you that Frenzy is by far the most fun Barb skill. I just took WW because it's much easier to get other skills, like some Increased Speed, Natural Resistance and FI. Frenzy needs it's synergies to shine, so it's much harder to also include horking, mf gear on the whole, and a few other useful skills.
As for progress. ShouldBeEasy reached level 91 yesterday by doing some more Pit runs. Not sure what I already mentioned here and what not, so here's a short overview.
I spent most of my time in LK, but as I already have said, rune drops Pul+ were (almost) non existent. I found my last Sur at run 1819, and the only other HR after that, a Vex, at run 2388. Right after hitting level 90 I found a Mal, at run 2639. After that, it took me almost 900 runs to find a Pul+, which was ... a Pul rune:
When I finally found a Gul rune at run 3753, but couldn't pick it up because I was being chased by monsters and couldn't reach the rune anymore, nor exit through a tp to come back, that did it for me. I switched equipment and went back to do area runs. After briefly testing CS, Travincal and Eldritch, I settled for Pits. I had quite a good map there and could handle it well on /p8, so it was a clear winner.
I got from level 90 to level 91 quite fast and without too much trouble, although I do have to stay on my toes all the time, as a combination of Amp, Fana and Might on a dual boss pack almost got me deeds. But most of the times it's really safe, and I also got an Ist, Lem and Fal on my way to 91, so that's nice.
Luckily LK wasn't all bad news, as I found a few good items. Not for ShouldBeEasy himself, but still. I had a period where a lot of S/U dropped. Mainly from a corpse in front of the first hut I hit, like this one:
In terms of charms I got a few nice to very nice ones too:
Also this 2/20 Sorc Circlet:
After hitting 91 I've returned to LK. I'm determined to find that Sur/Ber, but we'll see how long that lasts ... At 40s average run times (including stashing, selling, cubing gems and rerolling GCs), I'm at over 40 hours of LK to make an Enigma. Time to get rid of that area and hit up Meph for some essentials and CS (or Pits, if CS is still too hard) after that.
As for Grapelike, I created him yesterday during my lunch break, so on November 22 2018 at 12:22 to be precise.
As I already stated, he will be aiming for Polearms and as such Polearm Mastery from the start, until he can be respecced into dual wielding Oaths or Griefs or something similar. Unless maybe a pair of Bloodletters or Butcher's Pupil's decide to drop, which would almost be a moral imperative to switch earlier.
I mainly played him on /p1 early on, as moving through these early parts fast is important in terms of efficiency. I reran some areas a few times if I got a good map. For example I did Bishibosh a few times on /p5, because he was next to the waypoint. Same for Tristram, because it is an easy place to gain xp, and the WP wasn't too far from the entrance.
As a weapon I started out with buying a Scepter, as those are usually the strongest early on. However, after my first Bardiche dropped, I kept with Polearms from then on.
Best drop from early game was definitely this amazing jewel, the only jewel I have gotten so far:
The plan is to get through to Eldritch as fast as possible and level up there. I might rerun some other targets before that, if I happen on a good map for that. I suspect the part before WW to be really slow though, since the available prereqs for WW (mainly Concentrate at level 18) aren't the fastest killers out there, certainly not untwinked.
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Hall of Fame
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
zticazzy Perkele SC Barb 99 3.52 2016-07-12 No - - - -
Pb_pal Eleanor SC Sorc 99 3.52 2016-11-09 No 3068 437 5 -
NanoMist Izuna SC Sin 99 3.52 2016-12-25 No 5109 470 4 360
PhineasB Mercy SC Sin 99 3.52 2017-05-23 Yes - 475 11 -
PhineasB Hiatus SC Sorc 99 3.52 2017-12-25 Yes - 471 21 -
ffs HelpYourself SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-04-29 Yes - 447 - -
Neksja Aura SC Pala 99 3.52 2018-08-08 Yes - 481 - -
Yng Sophie SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-08-26 Yes - - 10 <300
T72on1 Neverland SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-10-21 Yes lots 483 13 350+
Bewitch itssoftcore SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-11-07 Yes - - - -
PhineasB Phaedrus SC Pala 99 3.52 2018-11-12 Yes - 401 13 -
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
ffs Ric SC Necro 98.33 3.32 2018-11-18 Yes - - - -
darkstarhub Neptune SC Sorc 97 2.96 2018-07-23 Yes - 470 - -
Ashenshugar Natur SC Druid 97 2.96 2018-11-20 Yes 2529 - - -
PhineasB Pestilence SC Necro 96 2.84 2018-07-31 Yes - - - -
Pb_pal Klaus HC Druid 96 2.84 2018-10-18 Yes - - NA -
Gynli Amazon SC Ama 96 2.71 2018-06-14 Yes - - - -
CrustyRusty Space_Oddity SC Ama 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Bewitch Mayhem SC Barb 96 2.71 2018-09-13 Yes - - - -
PhineasB Quinta SC Ama 94 2.28 2018-11-21 Yes - 339 3 -
Zenigma Ayura SC Barb 93 2.12 2018-09-08 No - - - -
Hutton Terrahork HC Barb 93 0.00 2018-09-15 Yes - - NA -
Potent Challenge(CL) SC Sorc 92 1.96 2018-07-30 no - - - -
Trapin' ceegee SC Pala 92 1.92 2018-08-16 No - - - -
Zenigma Gnosis SC Druid 91 1.79 2018-04-26 No - - - -
T72on1 ShouldBeEasy HC Pala 91 1.79 2018-11-23 Yes 100+ 100 NA 67
Neksja Aurora SC Sorc 90 1.70 2018-09-08 Yes - 215 - -
Lord Molybdenum Verisimilitude SC Ama 90 1.62 2018-06-02 No 98 77 3 -
sanguillen GordonChen-UT HC Necro 89 1.49 2018-09-08 Yes - - NA -
Quinneczech Blackwell HC Barb 87 1.29 2018-09-12 - - - NA -
Tatterson Titaani SC Barb 87 1.28 2018-11-20 - - - - -
Lord Molybdenum Cruise_Control SC Necro 87 1.25 2018-06-02 No 128 101 22 -
Burgomaster3 Hastur SC Druid 86 1.14 2018-07-02 Yes - - - -
DaveW Long_Term SC Sorc 84 0.97 2018-05-02 Yes Heaps - Lots 30+
Kitteh Gwynt HC Druid 83 2018-10-28 Yes - - NA -
sanguillen DirkStruan-UT HC Pala 82 0.84 2018-09-25 Yes - - NA -
Xul's Gull Xul HC Necro 81 0.74 2018-03-26 No - - NA -
Vildecor Trina SC Ama 80 0.68 2018-06-07 Yes - - 0 -
ioupainmax Durnik SC Pala 79 0.63 2018-06-28 Yes 177 111 0 -
Klonki Dualizt_Ann SC Sorc 74 0.40 2018-09-29 Yes - 37 1 15+
kstuart Nena SC Sorc 58 0.10 2018-11-07 Yes - - - -
AlexTheNextOne Orion SC Pala 58 0.00 2018-07-22 No - - - -
Burton Roberts Arizona SC Ama 56 0.08 2018-06-12 No - - 15 38
Lord Molybdenum Essa SC Sorc 55 0.08 2018-06-02 No 20 19 5 -
Bobbo ? HC Barb 48 0.00 2018-11-21 ? ? ? NA ?
Pijus AGoodBoy HC Druid 45 0.00 2018-05-29 Yes - - NA -
TwentyMuleTeam Chore SC Sin 20 0.00 2018-11-13 Yes - - - -
DaveHutt Alice SC Ama 13 0.00 2018-05-18 Yes - - 1 -
T72on1 Grapelike SC Barb 11 0.00 2018-11-23 Yes - - 0 1
MizzouFTW Hocus HC Sorc 01 0.00 2018-10-28 Yes - - NA -
Grape Coke SC Barb 01 0.00 2018-11-22 ? - - 0 0
ffs Lucid SC Pala 01 0.00 2018-11-22 ? - - 0 0
Pb_pal Stevesy HC Barb 01 0.00 2018-11-22 ? - - NA 0
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
hasuprotoss Reina SC Sorc 97 2.96 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1751 384 - -
Tarantella Tarasha HC Sorc 96 2.72 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Grim Furious_Blonde SC Ama 96 2.72 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
XyleneCyanol Fishie HC Sorc 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx HC Sorc 95 2.49 2017-03-31 Yes - - - -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky SC Barb 95 2.49 2017-12-14 Yes - - - -
Dezrok Salome SC Sorc 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 792 318 - -
Reyz Qty SC Sorc 93 2.10 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -
Me2Nik Fugu HC Ama 93 2.10 2018-02-05 Yes 80 - - -
Chaostar Prairie SC Sorc 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 659 261 12 126
OldSoldier Battleforge HC Pala 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 236 - -
kyndig DrearyAura HC Sorc 91 1.76 2018-02-20 Yes - - - -
tokerdin tokeress SC Sorc 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Southpaw Njord SC Druid 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Qwernt CanbeOnlyBlizz SC Sorc 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - ? ?
MercMan Este SC Ama 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1212 278 2 ?
Lynchgrinch Tattersail SC Sorc 89 1.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 321 ? ?
LiquidClear Sally SC Sin ** 1.36 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 225 - 1 -
liquid_mage zDadColdSorc SC Sorc ** 1.36 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 160 - -
Neksja Turirao SC Druid 87 1.25 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 191 124 5 -
Gladstone Socrates HC Druid 86 1.15 YYYY-MM-DD - - - - -
Smittyphi TheLongRun SC Sorc 85 1.11 2018-05-28 Yes 30 - Yes -
hackedagainanda Hugo HC Necro 85 1.05 2017-12-17 Yes - - - -
Naturallog Athos HC Barb 84 0.96 YYYY-MM-DD No 159 105 0 -
Qwernt AmaAgainstAll SC Sorc 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Gambit Mallenroh SC Sorc 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 0 0 0 0
Lord Molybdenum But_Why SC Sin 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD No 55 51 53 -
aarrgus Acala SC Barb 80 0.68 2017-12-30 Yes - - 5 -
Jean Avila SpeedAdict SC Ama 77 0.52 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - 50
logoutzero Digimon HC Necro 76 0.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 85 65 0 -
Gripphon Ryu SC Sorc 76 0.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - ? 13
Darke Rahl Bells HC Ama 74 0.40 YYYY-MM-DD No 19 - 0 -
Smittyphi SliceNDice SC Sin 70 0.30 2018-03-27 Yes 15 - 6 -
Xul's Gull Araphel HC Necro 60 0.12 2017-12-21 No - - - -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb HC Barb 50 0.05 2018-01-06 Yes - - - 10
TrU Henryk SC Barb 41 0.02 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - 22 12
Gambit Colossus SC Pala 39 0.02 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 0 0 0 0
Smancer Smancer SC Necro 26 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1 - - -
drmalawi Liv SC Sorc 24 0.00 2018-05-01 Yes - - 0 -
RIP Espada HC Necro 24 0.00 2018-06-01 Yes - 13 - -
BKC FearsomeFreddie SC Necro 23 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Ergroilnin Erilinda HC Sorc 20 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -The Fallen
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
RIP Kaira_II HC Sin 95 2.55 2018-09-06 Yes - 399 - -
Bewitch itsreal HC Sorc 87 1.xx 2018-04-24 No - - - -
MizzouFTW Pure HC Necro 86 1.15 2018-01-10 Yes - - 1 -
Vildecor Celia HC Ama 84 0.99 2018-05-30 Yes 125 97 1 -
coju NintyNine_orRiP HC Sorc 81 0.74 2016-04-07 Yes - - 1 -
RIP Attila HC Barb 78 0.59 2018-09-26 Yes - 73 - -
TwentyMuleTeam Valus HC Barb 76 0.48 2016-10-27 Yes - - 1 -
Pb_pal Stevesy HC Pala 76 0.48 2017-06-19 Yes - - 1 -
weezaard Cypher SC Druid 66 0.00 2018-02-21 Yes - - 20+ -
Tenecabo OldShatterhand HC Druid 49 0.04 2016-06-16 Yes - 0 1 -
Pijus Pyrestarter HC Druid 36 0.00 2018-05-21 Yes - - 1 -
coju fB HC Sorc 29 0.00 2016-04-09 Yes 1 1 1 2
Kitteh Verallus HC Druid 26 0.00 2016-03-25 No - - 1 -
logoutzero Rolex HC Barb 21 0.00 2016-03-26 Yes 0 0 1 1
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Hookipa
Diabloii.Net Member
Awesome, can I order this as a night lamp ;-)
Hookipa
Diabloii.Net Member
Pff, I can imagine that this cures you of any leftover-motivation to run LK. That would definitely piss me off.
Good luck with Grapelike, nice to see an influx of melee chars.
@RIP sorry to hear that, good luck with other projects and RL.
@Grape Welcome Zod-God to another crazy time sinking project, seems just right for you
.Unofrtunately no significant updates on StormRider. RL has been crazy busy, so for now reading up on everybody's progress is as much time as I now have. Congrats on all the progress everyone!
@T72on1 Wow, had no idea it's possible to dodge the hose that way, it does however feel a bit scary to do a first attempt at that in HC. Too bad I deleted all my SP characters and can't do a test run.
I think howl and taunt should get me through CS fine if I take it slow. I guess Infector will might a bit scary though.
Sure, sounds reasonable to keep the Rhyme. I think it's time to gamble some boots and get a hold of an amulet with resists, I hope I have enough materials for some Pgems to roll some res amulets.
I'll update my info in the table as soon as I've read up on how to do it, I'm under the impression there's some guide for that, right?
I think howl and taunt should get me through CS fine if I take it slow. I guess Infector will might a bit scary though.
Sure, sounds reasonable to keep the Rhyme. I think it's time to gamble some boots and get a hold of an amulet with resists, I hope I have enough materials for some Pgems to roll some res amulets.
I'll update my info in the table as soon as I've read up on how to do it, I'm under the impression there's some guide for that, right?
T72on1
Diabloii.Net Member
@Hookipa It's my biggest fear that, what happened with the Gul there, would happen when that Sur / Ber finally drops . This was no fun, but it was merely the one thing too much to get me switch from LK to something else. For practical purposes, it doesn't really matter that much.
@Bobbo Just remember that the trick to stay very close to Diablo to avoid his lightning hose only works in NM and Hell, not normal !!!
The OP of this thread has a link to a guide how to edit the table. It might sound a bit difficult, but really it isn't. Basically you make sure to have 'Use Rich Text Editor' setup in your preferences (which might be by default actually, I don't think I have ever changed it), quote the last post containing the table, delete everything except for the table and add / adjust your data in the table.
Good luck !!
. This was no fun, but it was merely the one thing too much to get me switch from LK to something else. For practical purposes, it doesn't really matter that much.@Bobbo Just remember that the trick to stay very close to Diablo to avoid his lightning hose only works in NM and Hell, not normal !!!
The OP of this thread has a link to a guide how to edit the table. It might sound a bit difficult, but really it isn't. Basically you make sure to have 'Use Rich Text Editor' setup in your preferences (which might be by default actually, I don't think I have ever changed it), quote the last post containing the table, delete everything except for the table and add / adjust your data in the table.
Good luck !!
Tatterson
Diabloii.Net Member
They're actually super simple to make if you have access to a cnc machine. Make a template of the runes (I used inkscape), machine the image(vector template?) on some acrylic plastic and go through it with a tool (screwdriver maybe, something sharp-ish with a circular head) yourself to get the rough patches out. Pretty sure you could bang out lights like these for less than 10 dollars a piece. Maybe even 5?. Not sure what the electronic components cost if you order from china, but they're quite cheap I've heard.
here is a super detailed and well done drawing of the electronical components
To not go completely off-topic, I'm glad that plenty of other people have decided to play the worst and best character in the whole game. Good luck in getting through Nightmare and Hell!
First raven frost after finding dozens of dwarf stars, two carrion winds and one natures peace. Huge boost to AR (and block with a shield.)
22% mf -> 31% mf, also 1% off perfect vendor and gf% !
Non-eth, nothing special. Currently using this, might not in the future. Don't know yet.
3ll. 95% sure I won't use this guy.
Standard goreriders
Both non-eth
The Reaper's Toll
Thresher
Two Hand Damage: 40 - 476
Durability: 34 of 65
Required Level: 75
Required Strength: 114
Required Dexterity: 89
Fingerprint: 0x5419f9c8
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
33% Chance to cast level 1 Decrepify on striking
238% Enhanced Damage
Ignore Target's Defense
Adds 4 - 44 Cold Damage Over 1 Secs (20 Frames)
14% Life stolen per hit
33% Deadly Strike
Requirements -25%
Almost max roll though, so happy with that.
Next order of business: Baal until 3 essences drop, then some tranvical.
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@T72on1 that is a cute twinking jewel!
It's definitely going to be an interesting route for the Pally, in particular regarding targets. Apart from the HRs (3x Jah, Ber, Lo, Ohm) there's not much a Dreamer needs to be honest. Nothing but some relatively common Meph gear really. So it should be just a matter of time – though quite some amount of that possibly. In any case there's not much else to run apart from LK/Meph/Trav, in particular A85 or Pindle don't have much to offer. The rarest S&U he'll be looking for probably is HLW.
I like the idea of running Travincal a lot. Potentially it can singlehandedly deliver everything he needs, and as I said it moreover provides decent XP at least until ~92-93 or so. Like @Grape I'm always running with twinked characters in mind as well, so even though he won't be looking for specific charms or jewelry, I'm confident a few goodies for my other characters will come from it and keep me entertained.
As for transitioning to XP gain and which targets – I will surely try out everything in attempt to save Ancients for once (neither of my chars so far did)... but let's be honest, it's going to be Baal.
After some number crunching and revisiting some of my twinked Paladins, I think this is the outline of what he will be trying to achieve for the Dreamer stage (post-Travincal, pre-Nihlathak):
Starting out and until that, he's just going to go standard Fana/Zeal. In the far, far away future, when (if ever) arriving at Nihlathak for 98-99, he'll respect to Smiter and shuffle things around again. But for now let's try to find a Steel or Strength first.
It's definitely going to be an interesting route for the Pally, in particular regarding targets. Apart from the HRs (3x Jah, Ber, Lo, Ohm) there's not much a Dreamer needs to be honest. Nothing but some relatively common Meph gear really. So it should be just a matter of time – though quite some amount of that possibly.
In any case there's not much else to run apart from LK/Meph/Trav, in particular A85 or Pindle don't have much to offer. The rarest S&U he'll be looking for probably is HLW. I like the idea of running Travincal a lot. Potentially it can singlehandedly deliver everything he needs, and as I said it moreover provides decent XP at least until ~92-93 or so. Like @Grape I'm always running with twinked characters in mind as well, so even though he won't be looking for specific charms or jewelry, I'm confident a few goodies for my other characters will come from it and keep me entertained.
As for transitioning to XP gain and which targets – I will surely try out everything in attempt to save Ancients for once (neither of my chars so far did)... but let's be honest, it's going to be Baal.
After some number crunching and revisiting some of my twinked Paladins, I think this is the outline of what he will be trying to achieve for the Dreamer stage (post-Travincal, pre-Nihlathak):
Build is straight-forward: Max Conviction, Resist Lightning, Salvation, Sacrifice, 16+ Holy Shield (and remaining points), of course 1 Zeal (4 after gear) and pre-reqs
Gear:
Dream helm and shield (ideally 40+ @ Sacred Targe)
Grief PB (needs 32+ IAS)
Enigma
LoH
HLW
Ravenfrost
Rare leech/res/stat ring
Arach, SoE or Nos Coil (depending on Grief IAS roll and target)
Gores
Switch: CtA + Spirit
Merc: Reaper's, Treachery, Andy or GF
That's two socket quests spent on the Merc gear and one remaining for a headpiece for the Paladin at some point before/after using Dream.
Inventory: Whatever, mostly resist/life charms I guess. I'll take the occasional fine/light SC but he's really not dependent on any kind of inventory whatsoever.
Like @Tatterson, I also thought about a Fortitude to swap in during Baal runs, but likewise expect it's probably not worth the hassle, in particular given physical damage has more of a safety net or at most balancing function.
He needs 72 IAS with a PB (be it Grief or CM) to hit 4 FPA. A Grief roll of <32 IAS would be painful to say the least, so let's hope he'll get it right with the first try. While Grief was strongest in my experience overall, I will need to test in-depth for the targets he'll run. CM could be better for Baal waves in particular.
Gear:
Dream helm and shield (ideally 40+ @ Sacred Targe)
Grief PB (needs 32+ IAS)
Enigma
LoH
HLW
Ravenfrost
Rare leech/res/stat ring
Arach, SoE or Nos Coil (depending on Grief IAS roll and target)
Gores
Switch: CtA + Spirit
Merc: Reaper's, Treachery, Andy or GF
That's two socket quests spent on the Merc gear and one remaining for a headpiece for the Paladin at some point before/after using Dream.
Inventory: Whatever, mostly resist/life charms I guess. I'll take the occasional fine/light SC but he's really not dependent on any kind of inventory whatsoever.
Like @Tatterson, I also thought about a Fortitude to swap in during Baal runs, but likewise expect it's probably not worth the hassle, in particular given physical damage has more of a safety net or at most balancing function.
He needs 72 IAS with a PB (be it Grief or CM) to hit 4 FPA. A Grief roll of <32 IAS would be painful to say the least, so let's hope he'll get it right with the first try.
While Grief was strongest in my experience overall, I will need to test in-depth for the targets he'll run. CM could be better for Baal waves in particular.Starting out and until that, he's just going to go standard Fana/Zeal. In the far, far away future, when (if ever) arriving at Nihlathak for 98-99, he'll respect to Smiter and shuffle things around again. But for now let's try to find a Steel or Strength first.
Gynli
Diabloii.Net Member
It's been a long time coming! Finally hit lvl 97!
Took me 4 months to hit lvl 96; lvl 97 took 5 months; next lvl must take 6.
Going by the same format as last update...
EXP NUMBERS
- ~250k per run at ~5m per run => equates to about 3m/h. (/p8 RoF/2-seal)
- fluctuated between 3~5m/h (according to the exp calc)
- but in reality, between extra Boss packs and under 5m runs, it probably stayed closer to 4m/h for most of the level.
- for last 10% or so, I switched over to /p1 RoF and /p8 CS(2-seal) which bumped up exp/h to about 4.5m
DROPS
1) 4os GMB (made Faith and got +1/14Fana)
2) Cat's Eye
3) SoJ - which I used to socket my tiara.
-- With Cat's eye, 15ias from helm, and switch from 12Fana Shadow to 14Fana GMB; clear time improved by A LOT!
3) Fleshripper
4) Hel'd out Stone, and made Fort for the merc.
5) Hone Sundan
6) Guillaume
7) Made Pheonix in eGT
8) Cham. and Pride.
NOTES
Initial plan was Fleshripper/SS on switch for Diablo. After finding a Ber, I changed the plan to Beast/LanceGuard. But then I thought, if I gave myself an excuse to switch to another setup, I might let myself use Charged Strike on switch; and with having found Griffons/Titans/SS/and like 3 lit jewels already, I could might as well go full Java.
I didn't want any of that, so I decided to stay pure bowa with Harmony and no Enigma.
So, that means, the merc needs to take aggro and tank Diablo while I pluck away. To ensure Diablo would always stay on merc and not me, I did a whole research and a half on how Diablo chooses his target. Found that max-damage from gear is the biggest deciding factor; which is the reason why anyone with Harmony is almost always targeted. Thanks to @Fruit and @Zyr. Link to discussion here.
I get about 1100 max damage from gear (~420 from GMB Faith, 507 from Hunter bow Harmony, ~120 max from charms/WT/Razor). With Pheonix and 1 jewel of Lightning, merc goes over that threshold and Diablo now always targets him.
Why Pheonix? Fire absorb. I don't have a steelshade; so Pheonix was the only alternative option. Now, he actually heals from Diablo's Firestorm.
On that note...
WISHLIST
1) Amp. Desperately need it.
- Atma is ideal obviously; but I'll take WWS or any rare bow with ctc amp, and keep it on switch until I find an Atma.
2) Steelshade - will let merc use Obedience instead of Pheonix for CB.
2a) OR, Guardian Angel and Jah - GA/Dream/Kelpie might be another possible setup for merc.
2b) OR, GA/Dream/Pride is another possible setup.
3) Superior Diamond Bow/Jah or Ber/ 14 or 15 Fana roll.
=> LoH > Cleglaw's because 350% demon
=> Atmas over Cat's Eye/Highlords for Amp. (no ias from ammy)
=> with helm/belt slot open, 35~75% is the possible range of ias.
=> key breakpoints: 45~50% for MB Faith, 50 for GMB Faith, 65~70% for Diamond
=> 45% from helm, 20% from LoH, 14/15 Fana Diamond bow (65%ias breakpoint) == ideal.
4) 3os/30frw circlet. any 3os will do for 15%ias jewels, but 30frw is always nice to have.
Future Plans
- I was avging 4m/h at lvl 96. That's the kind of number I saw from some people at lvl 98! I definitely need to speed up the time it takes to get to CS, reduce time spent on white mobs, and probably include Diablo into the mix. /p1 to Pentagram, /p7 for Seal bosses/Diablo seems to be the way to go for now.
To do all that...
1) Amp. Amp. Amp! Will do couple hundred Andy runs and see if that results in anything.
2) Because no Enigma, need frw. I can fill the inventory with frw scs; see if that improves run time more than +max dmg does.
3) CB setup. CB sucks on ranged; but it's good against bosses nonetheless. I hate the look of Guillaume on a bowa, so it'll just be CB gloves and gores. 25% CB should be good enough... right?
- Respec once final gears are in place. Probably max dex... Would love to pure Dex; but need 100 str to equip WT or Gores.
E: Links, tags, slight edit.
E2: added images to Fort and Pheonix
* * *
Hall of Fame
Questing Heroes
Resting Heroes
The Fallen
Took me 4 months to hit lvl 96; lvl 97 took 5 months; next lvl must take 6.
Going by the same format as last update...
EXP NUMBERS
- ~250k per run at ~5m per run => equates to about 3m/h. (/p8 RoF/2-seal)
- fluctuated between 3~5m/h (according to the exp calc)
- but in reality, between extra Boss packs and under 5m runs, it probably stayed closer to 4m/h for most of the level.
- for last 10% or so, I switched over to /p1 RoF and /p8 CS(2-seal) which bumped up exp/h to about 4.5m
DROPS
1) 4os GMB (made Faith and got +1/14Fana)
2) Cat's Eye
3) SoJ - which I used to socket my tiara.
-- With Cat's eye, 15ias from helm, and switch from 12Fana Shadow to 14Fana GMB; clear time improved by A LOT!
3) Fleshripper
4) Hel'd out Stone, and made Fort for the merc.
6) Guillaume
7) Made Pheonix in eGT
NOTES
Initial plan was Fleshripper/SS on switch for Diablo. After finding a Ber, I changed the plan to Beast/LanceGuard. But then I thought, if I gave myself an excuse to switch to another setup, I might let myself use Charged Strike on switch; and with having found Griffons/Titans/SS/and like 3 lit jewels already, I could might as well go full Java.
I didn't want any of that, so I decided to stay pure bowa with Harmony and no Enigma.
So, that means, the merc needs to take aggro and tank Diablo while I pluck away. To ensure Diablo would always stay on merc and not me, I did a whole research and a half on how Diablo chooses his target. Found that max-damage from gear is the biggest deciding factor; which is the reason why anyone with Harmony is almost always targeted. Thanks to @Fruit and @Zyr. Link to discussion here.
I get about 1100 max damage from gear (~420 from GMB Faith, 507 from Hunter bow Harmony, ~120 max from charms/WT/Razor). With Pheonix and 1 jewel of Lightning, merc goes over that threshold and Diablo now always targets him.
Why Pheonix? Fire absorb. I don't have a steelshade; so Pheonix was the only alternative option. Now, he actually heals from Diablo's Firestorm.
On that note...
WISHLIST
1) Amp. Desperately need it.
- Atma is ideal obviously; but I'll take WWS or any rare bow with ctc amp, and keep it on switch until I find an Atma.
2) Steelshade - will let merc use Obedience instead of Pheonix for CB.
2a) OR, Guardian Angel and Jah - GA/Dream/Kelpie might be another possible setup for merc.
2b) OR, GA/Dream/Pride is another possible setup.
3) Superior Diamond Bow/Jah or Ber/ 14 or 15 Fana roll.
=> LoH > Cleglaw's because 350% demon
=> Atmas over Cat's Eye/Highlords for Amp. (no ias from ammy)
=> with helm/belt slot open, 35~75% is the possible range of ias.
=> key breakpoints: 45~50% for MB Faith, 50 for GMB Faith, 65~70% for Diamond
=> 45% from helm, 20% from LoH, 14/15 Fana Diamond bow (65%ias breakpoint) == ideal.
4) 3os/30frw circlet. any 3os will do for 15%ias jewels, but 30frw is always nice to have.
Future Plans
- I was avging 4m/h at lvl 96. That's the kind of number I saw from some people at lvl 98! I definitely need to speed up the time it takes to get to CS, reduce time spent on white mobs, and probably include Diablo into the mix. /p1 to Pentagram, /p7 for Seal bosses/Diablo seems to be the way to go for now.
To do all that...
1) Amp. Amp. Amp! Will do couple hundred Andy runs and see if that results in anything.
2) Because no Enigma, need frw. I can fill the inventory with frw scs; see if that improves run time more than +max dmg does.
3) CB setup. CB sucks on ranged; but it's good against bosses nonetheless. I hate the look of Guillaume on a bowa, so it'll just be CB gloves and gores. 25% CB should be good enough... right?
- Respec once final gears are in place. Probably max dex... Would love to pure Dex; but need 100 str to equip WT or Gores.
E: Links, tags, slight edit.
E2: added images to Fort and Pheonix
* * *
Hall of Fame
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
zticazzy Perkele SC Barb 99 3.52 2016-07-12 No - - - -
Pb_pal Eleanor SC Sorc 99 3.52 2016-11-09 No 3068 437 5 -
NanoMist Izuna SC Sin 99 3.52 2016-12-25 No 5109 470 4 360
PhineasB Mercy SC Sin 99 3.52 2017-05-23 Yes - 475 11 -
PhineasB Hiatus SC Sorc 99 3.52 2017-12-25 Yes - 471 21 -
ffs HelpYourself SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-04-29 Yes - 447 - -
Neksja Aura SC Pala 99 3.52 2018-08-08 Yes - 481 - -
Yng Sophie SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-08-26 Yes - - 10 <300
T72on1 Neverland SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-10-21 Yes lots 483 13 350+
Bewitch itssoftcore SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-11-07 Yes - - - -
PhineasB Phaedrus SC Pala 99 3.52 2018-11-12 Yes - 401 13 -
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
ffs Ric SC Necro 98.33 3.32 2018-11-18 Yes - - - -
darkstarhub Neptune SC Sorc 97 2.96 2018-07-23 Yes - 470 - -
Ashenshugar Natur SC Druid 97 2.96 2018-11-20 Yes 2529 - - -
Gynli Amazon SC Ama 97 2.96 2018-11-24 Yes - - - -
PhineasB Pestilence SC Necro 96 2.84 2018-07-31 Yes - - - -
Pb_pal Klaus HC Druid 96 2.84 2018-10-18 Yes - - NA -
CrustyRusty Space_Oddity SC Ama 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Bewitch Mayhem SC Barb 96 2.71 2018-09-13 Yes - - - -
PhineasB Quinta SC Ama 94 2.28 2018-11-21 Yes - 339 3 -
Zenigma Ayura SC Barb 93 2.12 2018-09-08 No - - - -
Hutton Terrahork HC Barb 93 0.00 2018-09-15 Yes - - NA -
Potent Challenge(CL) SC Sorc 92 1.96 2018-07-30 no - - - -
Trapin' ceegee SC Pala 92 1.92 2018-08-16 No - - - -
Zenigma Gnosis SC Druid 91 1.79 2018-04-26 No - - - -
T72on1 ShouldBeEasy HC Pala 91 1.79 2018-11-23 Yes 100+ 100 NA 67
Neksja Aurora SC Sorc 90 1.70 2018-09-08 Yes - 215 - -
Lord Molybdenum Verisimilitude SC Ama 90 1.62 2018-06-02 No 98 77 3 -
sanguillen GordonChen-UT HC Necro 89 1.49 2018-09-08 Yes - - NA -
Quinneczech Blackwell HC Barb 87 1.29 2018-09-12 - - - NA -
Tatterson Titaani SC Barb 87 1.28 2018-11-20 - - - - -
Lord Molybdenum Cruise_Control SC Necro 87 1.25 2018-06-02 No 128 101 22 -
Burgomaster3 Hastur SC Druid 86 1.14 2018-07-02 Yes - - - -
DaveW Long_Term SC Sorc 84 0.97 2018-05-02 Yes Heaps - Lots 30+
Kitteh Gwynt HC Druid 83 2018-10-28 Yes - - NA -
sanguillen DirkStruan-UT HC Pala 82 0.84 2018-09-25 Yes - - NA -
Xul's Gull Xul HC Necro 81 0.74 2018-03-26 No - - NA -
Vildecor Trina SC Ama 80 0.68 2018-06-07 Yes - - 0 -
ioupainmax Durnik SC Pala 79 0.63 2018-06-28 Yes 177 111 0 -
Klonki Dualizt_Ann SC Sorc 74 0.40 2018-09-29 Yes - 37 1 15+
kstuart Nena SC Sorc 58 0.10 2018-11-07 Yes - - - -
AlexTheNextOne Orion SC Pala 58 0.00 2018-07-22 No - - - -
Burton Roberts Arizona SC Ama 56 0.08 2018-06-12 No - - 15 38
Lord Molybdenum Essa SC Sorc 55 0.08 2018-06-02 No 20 19 5 -
Bobbo ? HC Barb 48 0.00 2018-11-21 ? ? ? NA ?
Pijus AGoodBoy HC Druid 45 0.00 2018-05-29 Yes - - NA -
TwentyMuleTeam Chore SC Sin 20 0.00 2018-11-13 Yes - - - -
DaveHutt Alice SC Ama 13 0.00 2018-05-18 Yes - - 1 -
T72on1 Grapelike SC Barb 11 0.00 2018-11-23 Yes - - 0 1
MizzouFTW Hocus HC Sorc 01 0.00 2018-10-28 Yes - - NA -
Grape Coke SC Barb 01 0.00 2018-11-22 ? - - 0 0
ffs Lucid SC Pala 01 0.00 2018-11-22 ? - - 0 0
Pb_pal Stevesy HC Barb 01 0.00 2018-11-22 ? - - NA 0
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
hasuprotoss Reina SC Sorc 97 2.96 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1751 384 - -
Tarantella Tarasha HC Sorc 96 2.72 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Grim Furious_Blonde SC Ama 96 2.72 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
XyleneCyanol Fishie HC Sorc 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx HC Sorc 95 2.49 2017-03-31 Yes - - - -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky SC Barb 95 2.49 2017-12-14 Yes - - - -
Dezrok Salome SC Sorc 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 792 318 - -
Reyz Qty SC Sorc 93 2.10 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -
Me2Nik Fugu HC Ama 93 2.10 2018-02-05 Yes 80 - - -
Chaostar Prairie SC Sorc 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 659 261 12 126
OldSoldier Battleforge HC Pala 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 236 - -
kyndig DrearyAura HC Sorc 91 1.76 2018-02-20 Yes - - - -
tokerdin tokeress SC Sorc 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Southpaw Njord SC Druid 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Qwernt CanbeOnlyBlizz SC Sorc 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - ? ?
MercMan Este SC Ama 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1212 278 2 ?
Lynchgrinch Tattersail SC Sorc 89 1.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 321 ? ?
LiquidClear Sally SC Sin ** 1.36 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 225 - 1 -
liquid_mage zDadColdSorc SC Sorc ** 1.36 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 160 - -
Neksja Turirao SC Druid 87 1.25 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 191 124 5 -
Gladstone Socrates HC Druid 86 1.15 YYYY-MM-DD - - - - -
Smittyphi TheLongRun SC Sorc 85 1.11 2018-05-28 Yes 30 - Yes -
hackedagainanda Hugo HC Necro 85 1.05 2017-12-17 Yes - - - -
Naturallog Athos HC Barb 84 0.96 YYYY-MM-DD No 159 105 0 -
Qwernt AmaAgainstAll SC Sorc 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Gambit Mallenroh SC Sorc 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 0 0 0 0
Lord Molybdenum But_Why SC Sin 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD No 55 51 53 -
aarrgus Acala SC Barb 80 0.68 2017-12-30 Yes - - 5 -
Jean Avila SpeedAdict SC Ama 77 0.52 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - 50
logoutzero Digimon HC Necro 76 0.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 85 65 0 -
Gripphon Ryu SC Sorc 76 0.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - ? 13
Darke Rahl Bells HC Ama 74 0.40 YYYY-MM-DD No 19 - 0 -
Smittyphi SliceNDice SC Sin 70 0.30 2018-03-27 Yes 15 - 6 -
Xul's Gull Araphel HC Necro 60 0.12 2017-12-21 No - - - -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb HC Barb 50 0.05 2018-01-06 Yes - - - 10
TrU Henryk SC Barb 41 0.02 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - 22 12
Gambit Colossus SC Pala 39 0.02 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 0 0 0 0
Smancer Smancer SC Necro 26 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1 - - -
drmalawi Liv SC Sorc 24 0.00 2018-05-01 Yes - - 0 -
RIP Espada HC Necro 24 0.00 2018-06-01 Yes - 13 - -
BKC FearsomeFreddie SC Necro 23 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Ergroilnin Erilinda HC Sorc 20 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -The Fallen
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
RIP Kaira_II HC Sin 95 2.55 2018-09-06 Yes - 399 - -
Bewitch itsreal HC Sorc 87 1.xx 2018-04-24 No - - - -
MizzouFTW Pure HC Necro 86 1.15 2018-01-10 Yes - - 1 -
Vildecor Celia HC Ama 84 0.99 2018-05-30 Yes 125 97 1 -
coju NintyNine_orRiP HC Sorc 81 0.74 2016-04-07 Yes - - 1 -
RIP Attila HC Barb 78 0.59 2018-09-26 Yes - 73 - -
TwentyMuleTeam Valus HC Barb 76 0.48 2016-10-27 Yes - - 1 -
Pb_pal Stevesy HC Pala 76 0.48 2017-06-19 Yes - - 1 -
weezaard Cypher SC Druid 66 0.00 2018-02-21 Yes - - 20+ -
Tenecabo OldShatterhand HC Druid 49 0.04 2016-06-16 Yes - 0 1 -
Pijus Pyrestarter HC Druid 36 0.00 2018-05-21 Yes - - 1 -
coju fB HC Sorc 29 0.00 2016-04-09 Yes 1 1 1 2
Kitteh Verallus HC Druid 26 0.00 2016-03-25 No - - 1 -
logoutzero Rolex HC Barb 21 0.00 2016-03-26 Yes 0 0 1 1
Last edited:
Zyr
Diabloii.Net Member
Until now, I had never been able to imagine using a SoJ to socket a rare. But in this instance, doing so was clearly a Moral Imperative. Congratulations!
darkstarhub
Diabloii.Net Member
I would have a very hard time burning a SoJ for a socket. On an untwinked character it might be a little easier for me since the three quests are your only option for the whole journey. And it would have to be one helluva rare.
On the leveling front, my Sorc is still making progress. Her driver is slow, and goes off track on side adventures too often. I need to update the chart since I know she is past 3 billion XP now. My Barb has been getting a good workout though, and that has taken away from the main project. The thing is you gotta have fun along the way.
On the leveling front, my Sorc is still making progress. Her driver is slow, and goes off track on side adventures too often. I need to update the chart since I know she is past 3 billion XP now. My Barb has been getting a good workout though, and that has taken away from the main project. The thing is you gotta have fun along the way.
PhineasB
Diabloii.Net Member
First, congrats to @Gynli - amazing progress and mad style for pushing the bowazon to 97! Second, very cool to see the flurry of new entries, including the melee builds. Looking forward to following their journey! As for me:
* * *
Champion Pestilence and Alhizeer the Might Desert Merc (and Insight IG), Lvl 97 (pic)
Pestilence got back moving, and got the last half of 96 to reach the next level. I hadn't touched him since MFO warm up tourney in July, so it's nice to push him ahead again.
He was still focused on Pit runs, and was probably averaging ~8M/hr or so, as I was generally running pretty relaxed. No deaths, and only a few S&Es when mis-teleporting into fanaticism/might mob while amp’ed.
The one interesting moment was right around 2.95B, finally losing the IG (not sure to what actually). And then realizing that I hadn’t saved any Rals due to rolling caster amulets as he went. And I really haven’t picked up any low runes on the playthrough. He had just enough to cube up from Eld to remake the runeword He has been picking those low runes up ever since.
Finds were solid, which makes sense given the still relatively decent 239% MF that I wore through the end of the level. Drops meriting screenshots were (numbering is items found from Pit runs): a 10/54/40 Sharp GC of Vita, Mal #4, Gul #2, Ghostflame #2, Ber #1, Ist #6, this nice Lion Branded GC of Inertia, Stormspire, Steel Pillar, Griffon’s #2, Ist #7, and Lo #2. Crazy that it’s his second Griffon’s; I guess this one is a better roll
Other notable drops were Trang’s Helm #2, Stonecrusher #4, an eth 4os Thresher, Um #4, Pul #7 and #8, a 4os eth Giant Thresher, Medusa’s, Spirit Ward, eth Duriel’s shell, a 5/5 cold/die facet, Nat’s Mark, and these fun little charms/rares:
I really liked the map he rerolled and made a vid of a run at the end, which ended up being the one where Nat’s Mark dropped It shows how I approached the runs on the map pretty well.
As you can see, Pestilence has three shrines right on the path, which actually helped with XP gain average due to picking up XP shrines. The map also had up to six boss packs in the first little circle after entering, and then a carver nest that often had boss packs if not high numbers in the circle, and then the room immediately to the north. There weren’t regular boss spawns on the rest of the map if any bosses spawned after the shrine downstairs, so he could just skip the whole north portion and go straight to Level 2. The only drawback was average of 2-3 boss packs in Level 2, with one pack occasionally rolling.
Anyhow, now it’s time to consider next steps. He has only one respec, so I may do some testing with a twinked necro that’s been retired. I can pretty much replicate Pestilence’s gear, although the tester will be ~10 levels lower if I recall correctly. He also has one socket quest left, and I think it will go to the Griffon's, due to still not having improved on 1/20 rare. I guess he could luck out, but it seems like the socket will get put to use in meantime for +life, resists, or vita depending on the target. Which brings us to:
-- Pits: Pestilence did 2 runs on the Pit map, and he’s getting around 60k/run, which is about half of the average for 96-97. So continuing in the Pit would likely mean ~4M/hr. We'll do a few more runs to get a more reasonable estimate of XP/hr on the current map though.
-- CS: CS could theoretically be faster XP gain, but I hadn't been able to make it work in earlier levels. I didn’t spec for Attract (or any in the Dim Vision curse tree arm), so maybe that would make a difference to take the heat off Pestilence while he waits for the first few corpses. Based on testing by @ffs it seems he will want that for Nihl anyhow. And he also will have to assess whether the 6 skill points sunk into LR are worth it (seemingly not for 98-99 at Nihl, but maybe needed for CS; so if attract is needed to make CS work and LR is needed, that may be ruled out due to limited respecs and wanting to maximize skill points to CE).
-- Nihl: And Nihl remains the most intriguing choice. I’m a bit worried about having only ~2600 hit points, but Hiatus did fine with around 2550, and Aldurs and Dwarf Star would bump him closer to 2800, I think. He could drop from 125 FCR and wear Shako for extra vita and mana, but that's likely a big efficiency trade off.
So I think I’ll focus testing on Nihl with different set ups and CS. Feedback is most welcome, especially from @ffs based on his testing. Either way, I think I'll take a little break from him for at least a few days and maybe until after I get back from trip east to visit my family the first full week of December. So I won’t have to make the decision right away.
Instead, I will spend the more limited time I’ll have for the next 10 days on some testing with the twinked necro, the Trio of Twins barb (inspired by recent Barb entries to get him moving again), and LK runs with Quinta. Speaking of which . . .
* * *
Quinta finished another 500 LK runs (for 1000 total) and is half way to her Ber for Infinity. Sur dropped on run #326, along with an Ist on run #424. Aside from that, 4 Lems and some Kos and Lums. A Sur, Ist, Mal, and Um over the first 1000 runs, so not too shabby.
The map she used for 200-500 had a semi-stable Matriarchal Javelin rack next to a super chest, which is why she stuck with it hoping for Thunderstroke. It also rolled Scepters regularly, and so that was the one that rolled unique obviously. She rolled a new map after that, and landed on a nice one where she will stay until she finds another Sur:
* * *
Hall of Fame
Questing Heroes
Resting Heroes
The Fallen
* * *
Champion Pestilence and Alhizeer the Might Desert Merc (and Insight IG), Lvl 97 (pic)
Pestilence got back moving, and got the last half of 96 to reach the next level. I hadn't touched him since MFO warm up tourney in July, so it's nice to push him ahead again.
He was still focused on Pit runs, and was probably averaging ~8M/hr or so, as I was generally running pretty relaxed. No deaths, and only a few S&Es when mis-teleporting into fanaticism/might mob while amp’ed.
The one interesting moment was right around 2.95B, finally losing the IG (not sure to what actually). And then realizing that I hadn’t saved any Rals due to rolling caster amulets as he went. And I really haven’t picked up any low runes on the playthrough. He had just enough to cube up from Eld to remake the runeword
He has been picking those low runes up ever since.Finds were solid, which makes sense given the still relatively decent 239% MF that I wore through the end of the level. Drops meriting screenshots were (numbering is items found from Pit runs): a 10/54/40 Sharp GC of Vita, Mal #4, Gul #2, Ghostflame #2, Ber #1, Ist #6, this nice Lion Branded GC of Inertia, Stormspire, Steel Pillar, Griffon’s #2, Ist #7, and Lo #2. Crazy that it’s his second Griffon’s; I guess this one is a better roll
Code:
Griffon's Eye
Diadem
Defense: 201
Durability: 17 of 20
Required Level: 76
Fingerprint: 0x75fee21f
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to All Skills
+25% Faster Cast Rate
-20% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
+11% to Lightning Skill Damage
+147 Defense
Code:
Doom Spiral
Ring
Required Level: 74
Fingerprint: 0x3561afe
Item Level: **
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+2 to Minimum Damage
+45 to Attack Rating
6% Mana stolen per hit
All Resistances +11
Poison Resist +24%
Natural Grand Charm of Balance
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x97751a37
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Elemental Skills (Druid Only)
+12% Faster Hit Recovery
Witch-hunter's Coronet of Life Everlasting
Coronet
Defense: 36
Durability: 23 of 30
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0xa6e5b802
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
Damage Reduced by 22
Amber Small Charm of Balance
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xe9a89fbf
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+5% Faster Hit Recovery
Lightning Resist +11%
Graverobber's Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x6896df6b
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)
+6 to StrengthAnyhow, now it’s time to consider next steps. He has only one respec, so I may do some testing with a twinked necro that’s been retired. I can pretty much replicate Pestilence’s gear, although the tester will be ~10 levels lower if I recall correctly. He also has one socket quest left, and I think it will go to the Griffon's, due to still not having improved on 1/20 rare. I guess he could luck out, but it seems like the socket will get put to use in meantime for +life, resists, or vita depending on the target. Which brings us to:
-- Pits: Pestilence did 2 runs on the Pit map, and he’s getting around 60k/run, which is about half of the average for 96-97. So continuing in the Pit would likely mean ~4M/hr. We'll do a few more runs to get a more reasonable estimate of XP/hr on the current map though.
-- CS: CS could theoretically be faster XP gain, but I hadn't been able to make it work in earlier levels. I didn’t spec for Attract (or any in the Dim Vision curse tree arm), so maybe that would make a difference to take the heat off Pestilence while he waits for the first few corpses. Based on testing by @ffs it seems he will want that for Nihl anyhow. And he also will have to assess whether the 6 skill points sunk into LR are worth it (seemingly not for 98-99 at Nihl, but maybe needed for CS; so if attract is needed to make CS work and LR is needed, that may be ruled out due to limited respecs and wanting to maximize skill points to CE).
-- Nihl: And Nihl remains the most intriguing choice. I’m a bit worried about having only ~2600 hit points, but Hiatus did fine with around 2550, and Aldurs and Dwarf Star would bump him closer to 2800, I think. He could drop from 125 FCR and wear Shako for extra vita and mana, but that's likely a big efficiency trade off.
So I think I’ll focus testing on Nihl with different set ups and CS. Feedback is most welcome, especially from @ffs based on his testing. Either way, I think I'll take a little break from him for at least a few days and maybe until after I get back from trip east to visit my family the first full week of December. So I won’t have to make the decision right away.
Instead, I will spend the more limited time I’ll have for the next 10 days on some testing with the twinked necro, the Trio of Twins barb (inspired by recent Barb entries to get him moving again), and LK runs with Quinta. Speaking of which . . .
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Quinta finished another 500 LK runs (for 1000 total) and is half way to her Ber for Infinity. Sur dropped on run #326, along with an Ist on run #424. Aside from that, 4 Lems and some Kos and Lums. A Sur, Ist, Mal, and Um over the first 1000 runs, so not too shabby.
The map she used for 200-500 had a semi-stable Matriarchal Javelin rack next to a super chest, which is why she stuck with it hoping for Thunderstroke. It also rolled Scepters regularly, and so that was the one that rolled unique obviously. She rolled a new map after that, and landed on a nice one where she will stay until she finds another Sur:
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Hall of Fame
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
zticazzy Perkele SC Barb 99 3.52 2016-07-12 No - - - -
Pb_pal Eleanor SC Sorc 99 3.52 2016-11-09 No 3068 437 5 -
NanoMist Izuna SC Sin 99 3.52 2016-12-25 No 5109 470 4 360
PhineasB Mercy SC Sin 99 3.52 2017-05-23 Yes - 475 11 -
PhineasB Hiatus SC Sorc 99 3.52 2017-12-25 Yes - 471 21 -
ffs HelpYourself SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-04-29 Yes - 447 - -
Neksja Aura SC Pala 99 3.52 2018-08-08 Yes - 481 - -
Yng Sophie SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-08-26 Yes - - 10 <300
T72on1 Neverland SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-10-21 Yes lots 483 13 350+
Bewitch itssoftcore SC Sorc 99 3.52 2018-11-07 Yes - - - -
PhineasB Phaedrus SC Pala 99 3.52 2018-11-12 Yes - 401 13 -
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
ffs Ric SC Necro 98.33 3.32 2018-11-18 Yes - - - -
darkstarhub Neptune SC Sorc 97 2.96 2018-07-23 Yes - 470 - -
Ashenshugar Natur SC Druid 97 2.96 2018-11-20 Yes 2529 - - -
Gynli Amazon SC Ama 97 2.96 2018-11-24 Yes - - - -
PhineasB Pestilence SC Necro 97 2.96 2018-11-24 Yes - - - -
Pb_pal Klaus HC Druid 96 2.84 2018-10-18 Yes - - NA -
CrustyRusty Space_Oddity SC Ama 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Bewitch Mayhem SC Barb 96 2.71 2018-09-13 Yes - - - -
PhineasB Quinta SC Ama 94 2.28 2018-11-21 Yes - 339 3 -
Zenigma Ayura SC Barb 93 2.12 2018-09-08 No - - - -
Hutton Terrahork HC Barb 93 0.00 2018-09-15 Yes - - NA -
Potent Challenge(CL) SC Sorc 92 1.96 2018-07-30 no - - - -
Trapin' ceegee SC Pala 92 1.92 2018-08-16 No - - - -
Zenigma Gnosis SC Druid 91 1.79 2018-04-26 No - - - -
T72on1 ShouldBeEasy HC Pala 91 1.79 2018-11-23 Yes 100+ 100 NA 67
Neksja Aurora SC Sorc 90 1.70 2018-09-08 Yes - 215 - -
Lord Molybdenum Verisimilitude SC Ama 90 1.62 2018-06-02 No 98 77 3 -
sanguillen GordonChen-UT HC Necro 89 1.49 2018-09-08 Yes - - NA -
Quinneczech Blackwell HC Barb 87 1.29 2018-09-12 - - - NA -
Tatterson Titaani SC Barb 87 1.28 2018-11-20 - - - - -
Lord Molybdenum Cruise_Control SC Necro 87 1.25 2018-06-02 No 128 101 22 -
Burgomaster3 Hastur SC Druid 86 1.14 2018-07-02 Yes - - - -
DaveW Long_Term SC Sorc 84 0.97 2018-05-02 Yes Heaps - Lots 30+
Kitteh Gwynt HC Druid 83 2018-10-28 Yes - - NA -
sanguillen DirkStruan-UT HC Pala 82 0.84 2018-09-25 Yes - - NA -
Xul's Gull Xul HC Necro 81 0.74 2018-03-26 No - - NA -
Vildecor Trina SC Ama 80 0.68 2018-06-07 Yes - - 0 -
ioupainmax Durnik SC Pala 79 0.63 2018-06-28 Yes 177 111 0 -
Klonki Dualizt_Ann SC Sorc 74 0.40 2018-09-29 Yes - 37 1 15+
kstuart Nena SC Sorc 58 0.10 2018-11-07 Yes - - - -
AlexTheNextOne Orion SC Pala 58 0.00 2018-07-22 No - - - -
Burton Roberts Arizona SC Ama 56 0.08 2018-06-12 No - - 15 38
Lord Molybdenum Essa SC Sorc 55 0.08 2018-06-02 No 20 19 5 -
Bobbo ? HC Barb 48 0.00 2018-11-21 ? ? ? NA ?
Pijus AGoodBoy HC Druid 45 0.00 2018-05-29 Yes - - NA -
TwentyMuleTeam Chore SC Sin 20 0.00 2018-11-13 Yes - - - -
DaveHutt Alice SC Ama 13 0.00 2018-05-18 Yes - - 1 -
T72on1 Grapelike SC Barb 11 0.00 2018-11-23 Yes - - 0 1
MizzouFTW Hocus HC Sorc 01 0.00 2018-10-28 Yes - - NA -
Grape Coke SC Barb 01 0.00 2018-11-22 ? - - 0 0
ffs Lucid SC Pala 01 0.00 2018-11-22 ? - - 0 0
Pb_pal Stevesy HC Barb 01 0.00 2018-11-22 ? - - NA 0
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
hasuprotoss Reina SC Sorc 97 2.96 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1751 384 - -
Tarantella Tarasha HC Sorc 96 2.72 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Grim Furious_Blonde SC Ama 96 2.72 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
XyleneCyanol Fishie HC Sorc 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -
ThomasJohnsen xInTheBuffx HC Sorc 95 2.49 2017-03-31 Yes - - - -
NamelessPenguin Rockatansky SC Barb 95 2.49 2017-12-14 Yes - - - -
Dezrok Salome SC Sorc 95 2.49 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 792 318 - -
Reyz Qty SC Sorc 93 2.10 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -
Me2Nik Fugu HC Ama 93 2.10 2018-02-05 Yes 80 - - -
Chaostar Prairie SC Sorc 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 659 261 12 126
OldSoldier Battleforge HC Pala 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 236 - -
kyndig DrearyAura HC Sorc 91 1.76 2018-02-20 Yes - - - -
tokerdin tokeress SC Sorc 91 1.76 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Southpaw Njord SC Druid 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Qwernt CanbeOnlyBlizz SC Sorc 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - ? ?
MercMan Este SC Ama 90 1.62 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1212 278 2 ?
Lynchgrinch Tattersail SC Sorc 89 1.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 321 ? ?
LiquidClear Sally SC Sin ** 1.36 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 225 - 1 -
liquid_mage zDadColdSorc SC Sorc ** 1.36 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - 160 - -
Neksja Turirao SC Druid 87 1.25 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 191 124 5 -
Gladstone Socrates HC Druid 86 1.15 YYYY-MM-DD - - - - -
Smittyphi TheLongRun SC Sorc 85 1.11 2018-05-28 Yes 30 - Yes -
hackedagainanda Hugo HC Necro 85 1.05 2017-12-17 Yes - - - -
Naturallog Athos HC Barb 84 0.96 YYYY-MM-DD No 159 105 0 -
Qwernt AmaAgainstAll SC Sorc 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Gambit Mallenroh SC Sorc 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 0 0 0 0
Lord Molybdenum But_Why SC Sin 81 0.74 YYYY-MM-DD No 55 51 53 -
aarrgus Acala SC Barb 80 0.68 2017-12-30 Yes - - 5 -
Jean Avila SpeedAdict SC Ama 77 0.52 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - 50
logoutzero Digimon HC Necro 76 0.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 85 65 0 -
Gripphon Ryu SC Sorc 76 0.48 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - ? 13
Darke Rahl Bells HC Ama 74 0.40 YYYY-MM-DD No 19 - 0 -
Smittyphi SliceNDice SC Sin 70 0.30 2018-03-27 Yes 15 - 6 -
Xul's Gull Araphel HC Necro 60 0.12 2017-12-21 No - - - -
Sleepybear123 Rob_theBarb HC Barb 50 0.05 2018-01-06 Yes - - - 10
TrU Henryk SC Barb 41 0.02 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - 22 12
Gambit Colossus SC Pala 39 0.02 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 0 0 0 0
Smancer Smancer SC Necro 26 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD Yes 1 - - -
drmalawi Liv SC Sorc 24 0.00 2018-05-01 Yes - - 0 -
RIP Espada HC Necro 24 0.00 2018-06-01 Yes - 13 - -
BKC FearsomeFreddie SC Necro 23 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD Yes - - - -
Ergroilnin Erilinda HC Sorc 20 0.00 YYYY-MM-DD No - - - -The Fallen
Rich (BB code):
Forumite Character SC/HC Class Level Exp Date E/S S/U Grail Deaths Hours
--------------- --------------- ----- ----- ----- ---- ---------- --- ---- ----- ------ -----
RIP Kaira_II HC Sin 95 2.55 2018-09-06 Yes - 399 - -
Bewitch itsreal HC Sorc 87 1.xx 2018-04-24 No - - - -
MizzouFTW Pure HC Necro 86 1.15 2018-01-10 Yes - - 1 -
Vildecor Celia HC Ama 84 0.99 2018-05-30 Yes 125 97 1 -
coju NintyNine_orRiP HC Sorc 81 0.74 2016-04-07 Yes - - 1 -
RIP Attila HC Barb 78 0.59 2018-09-26 Yes - 73 - -
TwentyMuleTeam Valus HC Barb 76 0.48 2016-10-27 Yes - - 1 -
Pb_pal Stevesy HC Pala 76 0.48 2017-06-19 Yes - - 1 -
weezaard Cypher SC Druid 66 0.00 2018-02-21 Yes - - 20+ -
Tenecabo OldShatterhand HC Druid 49 0.04 2016-06-16 Yes - 0 1 -
Pijus Pyrestarter HC Druid 36 0.00 2018-05-21 Yes - - 1 -
coju fB HC Sorc 29 0.00 2016-04-09 Yes 1 1 1 2
Kitteh Verallus HC Druid 26 0.00 2016-03-25 No - - 1 -
logoutzero Rolex HC Barb 21 0.00 2016-03-26 Yes 0 0 1 1
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@PhineasB good to see Pestilence advancing! Regarding Nihl running, my thoughts on some points you mentioned:
FCR: Winning the CE battle is really about 125 FCR, I wouldn't drop to 75. Even at 125, Nihl gets a few CE steals, which not only can be dangerous when Amp'ed but in particular it's annoying because it significantly increases run times if that happens on the first or second corpse.
Curses: 95% of the time I only use AD and/or Confuse. Attract somewhat faded out of my rotation because it's rather situational. I still use it sometimes but the two main curses are sufficient and more relaxed to switch between. Something I started after a while is to use both simultaneously, there are often situations where that makes sense. Confuse has a bigger AoE, so you can cast it to defuse Vipers and then cast AD (low level) so that it hits Nihl and whatever the Merc is hitting. Better explained by this video (e.g. run at ~5:30).
Generally an important factor for run times I felt is to have AD active (at least on a few monsters) when the first CE goes off. It's not as important after that as long as Nihl is Amp'ed. When there's a semi-difficult spawn I often try to cast Confuse only after the first CE and before spamming CE until Nihl drops.
Dwarf Star: Most damage you'll take is from Nihl's CE and I'm running double Dwarf Star to be able to tank those much more easily. Even when I found BKWB from Nihl, after running with it a little bit, I quickly went back to double Dwarf Star. The mitigation they provide is immense.
CE range: The platform is relatively small and it may seem like you could get away with lower CE range, but confused monsters tend to wander around, plus Nihl often teleports. So I'd still max or near max it.
Given the above, it may seem outright criminal but you might want to consider dropping DWeb for Hoto when running Nihlathak. I didn't test it (twinked) admittedly, but I did test more offensive options than Hoto with Ric. He has a +6 PN White and in particular a Beast, which is generally a great weapon for PN Necro as well if FCR is taken care of, and quite close in performance to DWeb. But Hoto allows 125% FCR while using two Dwarf Stars for 30% Fire Absorb and Shako for 10% PDR, with good resist and a large life pool. Both White and Beast meant runs became noticeably more dangerous, while not speeding things up enough to make it worthwhile.
With you lucking that 2/20 that enables further setups of course, e.g. incorporating at least one Dwarf Star in a DWeb/125% FCR setup. Could end up being safe enough, though the lower damage reduction will require more S&Es here and there, which would need to be measured against any increase in run speed.
Generally, in particular with DWeb, Pit probably remains a very good option for you for 97-98 with ~4m/h. I was at about 4-4.5m for 97-98 at Nihlathak IIRC, but that's without the S&E lag you guys have, and my Pit numbers weren't as good. So Pit might be about the same in your case while being safer and providing better drops. And using that beautiful DWeb for sure.
FCR: Winning the CE battle is really about 125 FCR, I wouldn't drop to 75. Even at 125, Nihl gets a few CE steals, which not only can be dangerous when Amp'ed but in particular it's annoying because it significantly increases run times if that happens on the first or second corpse.
Curses: 95% of the time I only use AD and/or Confuse. Attract somewhat faded out of my rotation because it's rather situational. I still use it sometimes but the two main curses are sufficient and more relaxed to switch between. Something I started after a while is to use both simultaneously, there are often situations where that makes sense. Confuse has a bigger AoE, so you can cast it to defuse Vipers and then cast AD (low level) so that it hits Nihl and whatever the Merc is hitting. Better explained by this video (e.g. run at ~5:30).
Generally an important factor for run times I felt is to have AD active (at least on a few monsters) when the first CE goes off. It's not as important after that as long as Nihl is Amp'ed. When there's a semi-difficult spawn I often try to cast Confuse only after the first CE and before spamming CE until Nihl drops.
Dwarf Star: Most damage you'll take is from Nihl's CE and I'm running double Dwarf Star to be able to tank those much more easily. Even when I found BKWB from Nihl, after running with it a little bit, I quickly went back to double Dwarf Star. The mitigation they provide is immense.
CE range: The platform is relatively small and it may seem like you could get away with lower CE range, but confused monsters tend to wander around, plus Nihl often teleports. So I'd still max or near max it.
Given the above, it may seem outright criminal but you might want to consider dropping DWeb for Hoto when running Nihlathak. I didn't test it (twinked) admittedly, but I did test more offensive options than Hoto with Ric. He has a +6 PN White and in particular a Beast, which is generally a great weapon for PN Necro as well if FCR is taken care of, and quite close in performance to DWeb. But Hoto allows 125% FCR while using two Dwarf Stars for 30% Fire Absorb and Shako for 10% PDR, with good resist and a large life pool. Both White and Beast meant runs became noticeably more dangerous, while not speeding things up enough to make it worthwhile.
With you lucking that 2/20 that enables further setups of course, e.g. incorporating at least one Dwarf Star in a DWeb/125% FCR setup. Could end up being safe enough, though the lower damage reduction will require more S&Es here and there, which would need to be measured against any increase in run speed.
Generally, in particular with DWeb, Pit probably remains a very good option for you for 97-98 with ~4m/h. I was at about 4-4.5m for 97-98 at Nihlathak IIRC, but that's without the S&E lag you guys have, and my Pit numbers weren't as good. So Pit might be about the same in your case while being safer and providing better drops. And using that beautiful DWeb for sure.
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Big D went down smoother than I expected, in large thanks to the tip about standing on his toes, big thanks on that!
At lvl 50 now standing in harrogath waiting to get time to do eldritch runs to get the exp and gear to get ready for hell countess where I think I’ll stop to get the runes for an oath... Unless I find something else that will help me skip her.
I guess if eldritch is greedy and holds on to all goodies I’ll go back and farm nm meph at lvl 70... I’m not super stoked for that tho.
Edit: I will update he table when I’m not writing from my phone... by the way “E/S” in the table, that’s extended stash right?
At lvl 50 now standing in harrogath waiting to get time to do eldritch runs to get the exp and gear to get ready for hell countess where I think I’ll stop to get the runes for an oath... Unless I find something else that will help me skip her.
I guess if eldritch is greedy and holds on to all goodies I’ll go back and farm nm meph at lvl 70... I’m not super stoked for that tho.
Edit: I will update he table when I’m not writing from my phone... by the way “E/S” in the table, that’s extended stash right?