Proceed, Heroes, Into Terror's Lair! Diablo II Freestyle Group Slamdance Thread!

Eh, it has 10 more DEF, that's all.

I mean, if he can get to trade it to me then sure, but if it's just taking up four slots in his stash that he needs for other stuff he can go ahead and sell it.

I hate to ask, but anyone have a Mal rune? I've been wanting to make the Druid-specific runeword body armor, and the Mal rune is the only piece I'm missing.

Gotten nothing but common runes so far from my Hell-Countess runs, and running into at least one or two obnoxious aura-enchanted uniques on the trip down to her is starting to wear thin.

Edit: Thanks Osso!

With Toothache's help, I defeated nightmare Baal last weekend and have moved into Hell. I don't think I ever made it past nightmare in all the times I've played DII, so this is some uncharted territory. I ventured into act I tonight with the intention of cleaning out the den of evil and getting my skill point. Everything was going fine if a bit slow and then I hit Corpsefire. In two previous difficulty levels he's been nothing but a speed bump, but now he is a two-fisted engine of undead destruction - lightning resists so high I can't damage him faster than he regenerates, immune to cold so orb does jack and squat, plus lighting enchanted with the defense and resist lowering aura so my hireling dies in two hits. What the hell are you supposed to do against that except restart the game and hope for a better set of enemy attributes?

In other news, the road to Baal dropped a few pieces of interesting kit:

Some random set items




Hey I've actually got a complete set! Too bad it's not terribly useful.




A nice little lowbie mace:


SpoonyBard gave me a pair of Frostburns


And I made a pair of caster boots


so my mana supply is finally starting to stabilize.

And finally, Baal himself dropped this little beauty:


Hopefully this means I don't have to worry about armor for a while until I can find Tal Rasha's armor or a Pul rune to make the +2 to skills sorceress armor.

I see you've noticed that Hell mode is aptly named for sorceresses. Rares and uniques randomly get 2 free attributes on top of their normal ones in Hell mode, and more often than not they get at least one elemental-resistant or elemental-immune one. Woe betide the sorceress that has to face off a fire/ice/lightning-immune unique thanks to a bum roll of attributes...

Hell is usually a bit rough for all sorcs at first (provided you don't have another character to supply you with gear) since the class is so incredibly dependent on +skills gear for damage output, but once you get some decent equipment for you and your merc things get a lot easier, particularly if you're running a dual element build and not putting all your eggs in one basket.

Sorcs are one of the most gear dependent classes to be sure, but once you get rolling, the class becomes an incredibly versatile powerhouse, especially if you play long enough to get rich and start being able to rock crazy builds such as high-end enchantress setups.

Well, I was amped to finish the game after getting a bunch of new +skills from Spoony, but it turns out that the Ancients are completely impossible... for now. That means I'll finally have to start doing treasure runs, which means I'll probably start finding more useful stuff for everyone else from now on.

EDIT: Stuff like Aldur's Advance, which FRRRT can take if he doesn't have one already.

I haven't had a single good drop in a week, and tonight the RNG decided to escalate into openly taunting me:



Dammit, game!

With Isenhart's Case and that Reinforced Mace over in the corner, you are set for life, my friend.

And a flawed skull, to boot! Pandemonium event, here I come! Woooooooo!

YES.

(seriously even if I decide not to go for the full Aldur's set in the end those boots are probably the best in slot for a Wind druid anyway)

They'll be especially usefull for getting the hell away from effing undead flayers in Act III. Those things are still a pain, since they're weak enough to die immediately to Hurricane and they have a habit of running right up to Frrrt, only to die and kill him with their death AoE. Having to keep Hurricane off in any area they might appear really reduces his killing power, too.

When I do get them, anyone interested in my Inferostride?

I'm around today if you want to pick up the Bartuc's, Ossobucco.

Also, there's a set of Frostburn gloves up for grabs, for you mana-heavy people.

If anyone happens across a Ber rune they don't plan to use, I'd very much like that for the endgame armour I plan to make.

EDIT: I'm sure there's a Necro who would appreciate this:

I think my l'il Poison Necro is the only Necro on US-East Ladder in our group (Besides Bungle, of course).

If it's no good to Bungle, and no one else is capable of using it, I'll gladly take it, though it'll take quite awhile before TockSick can use it.

Yes that's his name, it's the best I could think of when every other name I attempted failed.

You know what has to happen now, right?

Yes, that's right. I now spend my abundant creative energy in making up Poison Necro names.

Ill Bill.

Knight Shayd.

DenosiopU.

Garbodor.

Culinary Pariah.

I'll be back when I think of more!

Go ahead and take it! BleakNigel is A) fully geared to the teeth (with a Homunculus, no less) and B) retired.

Hey, that sounds like fun! Let's think up some more amusing names for various class builds.

Curse Necromancer: Apoxah Ponyah
Skelly Necromancer: Ratlin Dembonz
Hammerdin: Count Tuchdis
Lightning Sorceress: Thausan Volx
Fire Sorceress: Burnine Upp

I have a couple random characters I've been playing off and on for kicks on the side. One is a summon necro named DrMcCoy.

Just found all the runes I need to make Oath, that should sort out Muntak's offence for now. Now I just need a weapon to put them in. Since the runeword makes the weapon Indestructible, I would ideally like an ethereal weapon, but if not, any 4 socket Elite axes (1 handed) that you happen to come across, let me know.

EDIT:


Found one 4 socket Elite just after this post, so I decided to runeword it. It isn't Ethereal, but it will serve me much better until I can upgrade to a more expensive runeword.

Oh, that's a pretty good idea. Chalk up two more for Fire Sorceress:

Insin Erator

Kellet W Fiyah
And for Lightning Sorceress:

Mete O Rological

Lay Zerz

Well, I'm glad I did get that Oath weapon made. Just breezed through from rescuing Anya, killing Nihlathak, defeating the Ancients and putting Baal in his place all in one session. I really should have been taking screens, but I was too busy concentrating on the game to even think about it at the time.

So without further ado, here's the entire equipment setup I managed to find or trade for:

Weapon: Oath Ettin Axe (pictured above)
Switch Weapons: 2x Echoing weapons (+3 Warcry)
Shield: Sanctuary Blade Barrier
Helm: Guillaume's Face
Body: Duriel's Shell
Gloves: Magnus' Skin
Belt: Wilhelm's Pride
Boots: Gore Rider
Amulet: +1 Barbarian Skills, 25 damage reduction
Rings: Rare 7% Life Steal, +3 all resists, 16 Cold resist, +10 Str
Rare 5% Life Steal, 3% mana steal, +10% FCR, +10 AR, +13 Cold resist, +24 Fire Resist

Charms(total bonuses): +21 Poison resist, +22 Lightning resist, +7 Dex, +100 Poison damage/5 second, +6 Poison damage/3 second, +1 Warcry, Gheed's Fortune (29% mf, 120 gold find, 12% vendor price reduction), +3% FR/W, +5% FHR, +126 AR, +65 Life, +39 Def, +3 max damage

Other information: +70% IAS, 29% Critical Strike, 50% Crushing Blow, 30% Deadly Strike, +30% Open Wounds, +55% FHR, 19% Life Leech, 8% Mana Leech, 73% Blocking

For comparison, here's Muntak fully equipped at his base stats:



and here he is when he gets fully buffed up:



Shows what a huge difference those Warcry's make.

And now: the build!

1 Point Howl
1 Point Taunt
1 Point Battle Cry
20 Shout
20 Battle Orders
1 Battle Command
1 Find Potion
1 Find Item
1 Grim Ward

With this set up, you get a huge timer for the buffs. Grim Ward is a very nice option for when you are swarmed, and along with the Find skills is a good way to destroy those resurrecting enemies that keep getting up, while you reach the guy resurrecting them.

Maximising Battle Orders and Shout gives a huge bonus to Life and Defence, and since this build is aiming to be a meatshield, it makes sense to make these primary skills.

20 Axe Mastery
1 Increased Stamina
1 Increased Speed
1 Iron Skin
1 Natural Resistances

I chose Axes over swords for 2 very important reasons - axes can do slightly more damage than swords, and they can attack at a greater distance, which is necessary for keeping those Mana Burn enemies at bay. A useful tactic is to lure them into attacking my mercenary, so I can attack from range and they won't turn to attack me. This build cannot work well without a constant flow of mana, like most builds.

The 1 point wonders gain bonuses from Battle Command, as well as any +skills equipment I manage to find. Iron Skin further prolongs your life, so it can be worth putting more than 1 skill point in here if you want an even more defensive build than this gives you.

1+ Bash
1 Stun
20 Concentrate
1 Berserk

Here's the meat of the build. Concentrate is a wonderful ability that is both defensive and offensive in one neat package. When it is activated, you gain a nice bonus to Defence, and the attack cannot be stopped in any way (which reduces, but not eliminates the need for FHR). Any remaining skill points can be put in Bash for the synergy bonus to damage, or fixing up a defensive skill like Iron Skin or even Natural Resistance (cuts down on the number of charms needed to boost resists). Concentrate and Battle Orders work well together, since BO gives a 10% per level damage bonus, and the Life bonus from that buff extends even further the defensive boost from Concentrate.

As you may expect, Concentrate has a slower enemy kill rate than Frenzy, but the point of the build is survival first. You'll still do plenty of damage to take out enemies.

Berserk, as always, is the go-to skill for dealing with Physical Immune enemies. While it does lower your Def to 0, having a shield means up to 75% of the time that won't be an issue. Of course, this does make you more vunerable to Mana Burn enemies, but that's part of the reason a merc is there. You can just run, and that 1 point in Howl can assist if you wish to skip over a particularly annoying enemy with mods like Physical Immune, Mana Burn, and/or Magic Immune.

You might also notice the lack of Leap or Leap Attack for escaping enemies. This is a particular preference of mine, but I would rather have the extra skill points into damage, since he needs all the help he can get there. With enough Life, Def and DR%, he won't need to worry about escaping enemies, and there are skills within easy reach for managing packs easier (Howl, Taunt, Battle Cry, Grim Ward). The lack of Leap also pushes him towards his team support role even further, supporting those classes and builds who are not using Teleport or Enigma to get around. Keeping those classes buffed is more important than those who can escape easier, so it helps to be more of a meatshield to them.

One thing about this build it can be made relatively cheaply, if you're into trading for equipment. It is both durable, and easy to trade for some of the best stuff for this class. It can even be made from scratch, as I have for the most part.

The way I like to play is pretty straightforward, but it works better for team games than playing solo. First step is the buffs - Battle Command twice, then Shout and Battle Orders, while using those Echoing Weapons for a nice +6 bonus for all buffs. Why BC twice? Because the first time using it, it raises the skill by 1 point, so the second time you'll add a bit more length to its timer. I don't switch to those in combat, only for buffing.

Then it is back to the main weapon + shield, and I like to lead the way when it comes to large enemy packs - walking not running, since I get full block that way, running reduces block rate by 2/3rds, which is a huge problem. Since Muntak is so durable, he does not fear many enemies, and those can be dealt with by the other team members. I especially target resurrect-using enemies like Shamans first, so the rest of the team can clear up the minions without being hindered. This pulls a lot of aggro his way, further improving the survival of his team mates. In the middle of particularly large crowds I like to drop Battle Cry, since it lowers the enemy's physical damage and Def, making them even easier to manage, while I concentrate enemies all in one place for the spellcasters to pelt their high-damage spells upon. For groups with a lot of ranged attackers, Taunt is the way to go - I harped on about this skill before, but it really adds to the ease of clearing up those Rogue archers, Shamans, Dark Lords, and any other monster that loves to run away or resurrect from a distance.

Nice, Muntak seems like a beast.

Frrrt is still in the middle of Act III hell, though things have gotten a bit better since the endless parade of deaths he had in Act I hell. Now and then, though, I try to run Nightmare Baal if only to buffer my gold. I don't think I've been at the gold limit since Act III Nightmare.

As things stand now, neither of Frrrt's attacks can hit a 3k damage threshold, not without more +skills. Fortunately Frrrt's equipment is nowhere near complete, so there's lots of room for more improvement.

Also to consider is that while Hurricane right now only hits about 1200 and Tornado 2100, provided a foe isn't immune to cold and/or physical those attacks are hitting at the same time, putting his potential damage output in an ideal situation closer to 3k or more.

Right now there's a few things I'm looking out for. Frrrt is all about fast cast rate, and added resistances, on top of various mana buffs.

Arachnid Mesh. I bet there'll be some hot competition for this among other casters, so I've just been holding out hope that it drops for me.

Magefist. Right now I'm using the gloves from Trang's set (baby Necro is nowhere near level enough to use em)

A 4-socketed Monarch Shield. As I understand it a Monarch has the lowest strength requirements of all possible 4-socketed shields, though even then Frrrt still isn't close to the required strength and will need a respec if I find one. But it is for the Spirit Runeword, which seems to be the best possible equip for a Wind Druid. In fact it's so good I can use it twice!

A 4 socketed sword, probably a plain ol' Broad Sword (though found in Nightmare or Hell) for the low dex requirement. The damage the sword gives is irrelevant, it's a stat stick. Spirit Runeword again.

A good, elite, 4-socketed body armor and an Ist rune. I was fortunate enough to stumble upon a Ber Rune, which puts me closer to getting this Runeword. True I'm currently using the Rain Runeword, but chains of honor is more better, though I'm not quite holding out hope to get it. Never know, though! Ideally the armor wouldn't have a high strength requirement, somewhere around 150 which is what I'll need for the spirit shield.

If an Ist rune never drops for me, then the Skin of the Vipermagi is alternative, and probably has a higher chance of dropping for someone. Though it's also a great armor for any caster.

A good crafted caster amulet would be great. Right now Frrrt has one with +Cold Skills, if the stars could align and give him one with +Elemental then that would be fantastic.

Rings with Fast Cast Rate and good resistances. OR the Wedding Band unique, but that one will be high demand too. Currently Frrrt has a Carrion Wind, which isn't bad but I'd gladly trade it for a Wedding Band.

Finally, any grand charms with +Elemental skills, though I'm not hung up over them.

So Frrrt still has lots of room for improvement. In fact, there's still more that can be done for his Merc!

I'm keeping an eye out for one of two things here. The runes (and a good elite weapon) for the Lawbringer Runeword, or the Reaper's Toll Unique Thresher.

Yes, I would swap to a Barbarian Merc if I could get the Lawbringer.

Both of those weapons have one thing in common: Chance to cast a high level Decrepify on striking. Added Physical Vulnerability + Tornado = RAEP. Give the Barb Merc a Treachery Runeword armor for uber attack rate to let the good times roll.

Right now Frrrt is still reliant on the Insight Runeword on his Act II merc for a mana battery, but I've been trying to wean him off of that. Especially since the merc is pretty much dying immediately to the Hell act bosses. Hell Duriel was a battle of attrition with my mana running out long before my health, especially compared to Nightmare Duriel which fell over in five seconds. But better mana management not dependant on Insight will come as I get more of the gear I listed above.

I think I picked up a spare Magefist the other day. I'll check my mules, and if I have it, it's yours.

I'd love the Razortail unique belt if anybody stumbles upon one. It's highly unlikely that I'll find the runes necessary to put together the ridiculous enchantress build I was hoping to show off, but with a Razortail I can at least demonstrate the sorcazon build.

Hmmm. Actually, I'll pass on the Homunculus, amazingly enough. I forgot I had more than one piece of the Trang's set, and I got the Wing on a bank. The Homunculus might be better on its own, but I'm going for the set.

Good news! I do in fact have a spare Magefist sitting on a mule, and a white quality Monarch Shield to boot, which if memory serves, will become a 4-socket shield if you make use of the socket reward in Act V.

I'll be able to log on for the rest of the day, so let me know a good time and I'll send 'em your way.

Also, since Spoony is passing on the Homunculus, I'll take that off your hands! My necro is happily watching his army hack it's way through the game, and it won't be too much longer before he's able to equip it.

Anytime now, really. A Monarch Shield would be swell. I'd need to burn a respec to get the strength I need, but it'll be well worth it. Though you wouldn't happen to have an Ort rune too?

Welp, the Spirit Shield really upped Frrrt's killing power. Yet despite his better gear I still died so many times on the way down to Mephisto (yet Mephisto himself was as much a pushover as he was in Normal and Nightmare).

So Frrrt is entering Hell Hell (Hell Squared?) completely broke. He doesn't even have enough cash to revive his Merc. The game threw so many 'Screw You!' moments at me, it was downright hilarious.

I think my favorite one was getting a Venom Grip, fairly decent gloves for an up and coming Poison Necro, as an Ethereal item.

On top of that, I got a second Nokozan Relic this run, a Naj's Circlet, a Griswold's Valor (I MIGHT put that on my Merc, not sure), a Gorefoot, and my old Rhyme Runeword shield (inserted into a Luna) is also up for grabs.

Anyone want any of that?

In the meantime, before I tackle Double Hell I'll have to crawl back to Nightmare Act V and rebuild my gold supply.

Is Loricated Mail (Defense: 481, Required Strength: 149) good enough? I got one with 4 sockets just now from a random mook in The Pit.

EDIT: I also have a The Minotaur for anyone who wants it.

EDIT: Apparently it's an axey sort of night tonight. Is anyone interested in Messerschmidt's Reaver?

If you pick up a white item there is a cube recipe which has a chance of giving you 4 sockets. Loricated Mail is in the Heavy category, which has a hefty effect on Stamina and run speed, Light armour has no such penalties. There's almost no difference between the top end Light armours and most of the Medium/Heavy ones, except for max Def and Str requirement.

For comparison, Def range for Loricated Mail is 390-496, and for Great Hauberk, a Light armour, it is 395-501. Great Hauberk has a much lower Str requirement (118 vs 149). While you do have a top end Mail, if you can find something better I would prefer to use that. Might be good for a merc where such penalties are meaningless though.

I was hoping to eventually find an Archon Plate, which seems to be the best compromise. Even if I can find a white one I still have two potential uses out of Larzuk in Nightmare and Hell (when I reach him). A Superior Archon Plate would be super best, but who knows if I'll be THAT lucky.

Unless the armor-piece of the Aldur's set drops for me or someone in the near future, anyway.

EDIT: Looking over my runes list, this is what I still need:

Tal, Lem x3, Ist x2, Amn, and Thul

Some of those will probably drop easily, but the three Lem and two Ist runes will be a problem.

Now that I know what runes I'll be needing for the rest of it, I'm willing to give the rest of my runes up if anyone wants em:

Dol, Lum, Hel x2, Pul, Ko, Nef, Sol

The Delirium Runeword would be a great helm if I can find a helm to use it in, ideally a 3-socketed Druid helm with +skills to Tornado and Hurricane, but finding something like that may never happen.

I guess I'm just used to settling for garbage, since that's all I've ever seen on this playthrough. In spite of that unfortunate happenstance*, Explodia has slain Baal and become a Matriarch! I found the shield and armor from the Heaven's Brethren set on my way there, if anyone is interested in them for some reason. I like the idea of having everyone share their endgame stats & equipment, but it's 5 am right now, so I'm going to do it tomorrow instead... later today... whatever. After I sleep.

*Okay, it was pretty much entirely because SpoonyBard gifted me with +5 trap skills in items. So thanks again for that.

It'll be a while before I can equip it, but do want.