Sept is finished.

I have finally finished my sept!

I don't play much these days: this sept was started almost a year ago. So I may not remember all details of each character. Still, I'll try to give complete info on the gameplay of each char (won't be too hard, considering the builds, hehe).

Originally the idea was to make use of IK set on various classes and see what numbers can be squeezed out of it. But I found a 'Beast' war spike (it has been collecting dust in my stash for a thousand millions years). Back then, when I was making this runeword, I tried to find the balance between speed and damage and finally wasted a Ber (War Spike... FAIL, I guess?). Still, a Beast WS can be used for Werebear Skill. And after a little time here they are - Seven Immortal Bears.

The rules are simple:

- no respec.

- hell Nihlathak is to be killed and Personalization quest reward must be used.

- all runes are to be collected.

- hardcore.



1. Guardian Gaki, the Kodiak.

Rainbow damage on the IK Maul is high enough to build a character around it. Yet 2.6k damage at 6fpa proved to be less efficient than I expected (even with 75% CB), so I was a bit disappointed with the build.

But, truth be said, Gaki was a very viable character. He wasn't a super fast killer, but with ~200 dual leech, 10k def and 2.8k life he could tank pretty much anything (and don't forget about the shockwave!). An easy character, more safe then strong.

Player settings:

Normal - 8

NM - 8

Hell - 3 (Chaos Sanctuary - 1, as it took forever to kill things and Nihlathak - 1, cause he's evil and scary)

Skills:

maxed Werebear, Lycantrophy, Hunger and HoW. Rest went to Shockwave.

Equipment:

Gaki's IK Maul [shael shael]

IK boots, belt, armour, gloves

Guillaume's face

Raven Frost

Mara's Kaleidoscope

Plague Finger Crafted Ring

Required Level: 70

Fingerprint: 0x963d082

Item Level: 87

Version: Expansion 1.10+

+116 to Attack Rating

2% Life stolen per hit

+5 to Strength

+34 to Life

All Resistances +11

+1 to Mana after each Kill

A bunch of various charms (resistances, a bit of life and lit damage)

Mercenary - Defiance:

Crown of Thieves

Duress Dusk Shroud

Reaper's Toll

Random Screenies:

1 2 3



2. Guardian Gilgamesh, the Bearbarian.

I've always wondered why nobody makes bear-barbs. Wolf and Bear wereforms have some differences but pros and cons of each one make the forms pretty much equally usable and playable. And besides, Beast requires lvl 63, while Wolfhowl collects dust untill you hit 79 (yeah I know, with the newly introduced respec feature bla bla bla yadda yadda yadda. Still haven't got used to it).

On to the topic. Gilgamesh is a tank. A tank? - no. A TANK - that's how this must be typed. Just look at LCS - there's nothing much more to add. I went through hell easier than a hot knife through butter. Nothing can kill this beast - I simply ignored Nihlathak's CE. Probably my favourite character in the sept - no words can describe the euphory I felt when I was playing this char.

Player settings:

Normal - 8

NM - 8

Hell - 5

Skills:

maxed Mastery, Iron Skin, BO and Shout; got usual one-pointers - BC, Inc. Speed and Leap. The rest was split between Find Item and Natiral Resistances.

Equipment:

Gilgamesh's IK Maul [shael shael]

IK boots, belt, armour [Perfect Ruby], gloves, helmet [2xPerfect Ruby]

Raven Frost

Highlord's Wrath

BKWB

A bunch of various charms (+life and + AR mostly)

Mercenary - Might:

Andariels's Trollface

Naj's armour

Reaper's Toll

Random Screenies:

1 2 3



3. Guardian Ngonyama, the Half-Avenger.

The build name is quite awkward, but I'm fairly bad at finding good words in appropriate situations. This paladin used Conviction Aura to make elemental damage from IK Maul more effective, hense the build title.

With this char (as well as with all chars except Gaki) I encountered a frustrating problem - Beast requires lvl 63. Untill 63 you have only your normal weakling human form. I took Kuko and other equipment with +fire damage and repeated normal Baalruns till I got 63 (took a couple hours and was really, really boring).

From that moment the game was a breeze: I didn't have to care about my Attack Rating and emenies' resistances and immunities. Councils? Pff. Chaos Sanctuary? It's a Kindergarten since Blizzard removed Iron Maiden. Ancients? No problem. Nilly? Ha! Maxed redemption left no corpses to explode, so he wasn't hard at all.

There's really nothing to add on the gameplay, everything should be pretty clear.

Generally, without shield this kind of palas shows a good balance between defence and offence. He is strong and rather tanky due to WB health bonus and +3 life per vita for being a badass paladin.

Player settings:

Normal - 8

NM - 8

Hell - 3

Skills:

maxed Conviction, Redemption and Blessed Aim; rest went to Vigor.

Equipment:

Ngonyama's IK Maul [shael shael]

IK boots, belt, armour [Rusty jewel of Fervor], gloves

Guillaume's face [Argent jewel of Burning]

Raven Frost

Mara's Kaleidoscope

BKWB

A bunch of various charms (lightning damage mostly)

Mercenary - Defiance:

Rockstopper

Duress Dusk Shroud

Reaper's Toll

Random Screenies:

1 2 3



4. Guardian Ghana_II, the Lichlord.

This one was more tricky than previous chars. Well, look at the name - Ghana was killed in Nightmare (in the midst of a huge pack of his own minions - I seem to show some mad skills here <_<), So I had to start over.

At pre-63 levels I used Magi as main source of damage and supported them with Maelstrom's CE (the same tactics was used against Hell Nilly).

At post-63 levels the game welt like this:

1). Transform into a bear so that sudden arrow or electric bolt wouldn't kill you.

2). Find a pack of monsters and wait till they are interested in you minionpack.

3). Shift back to human form and cast LR all over the place.

4). Shift into a bear and go kill some creatures.

5). ...

6). PROFIT!

That was hard to get used to, but turned out to be really entertaining. (Especially when I learned that Town Portal is a great way to gather or reposition the army of minions). This char was quite a refreshening change from 1-button barbarian and paladin.

Somewhere at A2 Hell I found a good place for my unspent skill-points - Golem Mastery. I made Iron Golems from various items with massive elemental damage (Gimmershreds or Voice of Reason for additional fireworks). They were pretty hardskinned, but indescribably dumb: I've lost several cause they got lost somewhere far behind me.

A fun character. Moderate damage, and quite fragile - but there are lot's of backs to hide behind.

Player settings:

Normal - 8

NM - 8

Hell - 3

Skills:

maxed Skeleton Magi, Skeleton Mastery, Golem mastery, Lower Resist; put 1 pointo into Revive and threw the rest into Summon Resist.

Equipment:

Ghana_II's IK Maul [shael shael]

IK boots, belt, armour [Rusty jewel of Fervor], gloves

Eagle Shell Circlet [Perfect Diamond]

Defense: 53

Durability: 35 of 35

Required Level: 35

Fingerprint: 0x9ee331cd

Item Level: 82

Version: Expansion 1.10+

+2 to Summoning Skills (Necromancer Only)

82% Bonus to Attack Rating (Based on Character Level)

+100 to Attack Rating

+72% Enhanced Defense

+14 to Dexterity

+7 to Life

Raven Frost

Mara's Kaleidoscope

Plague Finger crafted ring

A bunch of various charms (+res and +AR; 4 Summonning Skillers).

Mercenary - Blessed Aim:

Stealskull

Duress Dusk Shroud

eth Obedience Cryptic Axe

Random Screenies:

1 2 3



5. Guardian Ursula, the Fuzzydodger.

This is my least favourite char from the sept. Gave me nothing but boredom and irritation. She's quite primitive (no prebuffing except for the Werebear OSkill, no support skills).

Nevertheless, an IK fuzzydodger is quite playable (even though you have no ways of damage amplification but merc's aura and Critical Strike). Good life pool and dodge skills kept this char safe and alive (Strong Valkyrie Helped a lot, too), so I eventually killed Nilly and Baal.

Perhaps I'll like Fuzzydodgers more when I make one with appropriate equipment like godly rare fanged knife and Forti.

Player settings:

Normal - 8

NM - 8

Hell - 3 (Nilly - 1)

Skills:

maxed Critical Strike, Penetrate (BTW, why the hell is this skill called 'Penetrate'? How on the Earth am I supposed to Penetrate with a huge Maul? [dirty dirty thoughts, dirty dirty imagination]), Valkyrie. Dodge/Evade/Avoid - 11/6/12. Rest went to Decoy.

Equipment:

Ursula's IK Maul [shael shael]

IK boots, belt, armour [Rusty jewel of Fervor], gloves

Guillaume's face [Realgar jewel]

Raven Frost

Angelic Amulet

Angelic Ring

A bunch of various charms (AR and +max damage mostly)

Mercenary - Might:

Guillaume's Face

Leviathan

Reaper's Toll

Random Screenies:

1 2



6. Guardian Buakaw, the Ursa Minor.

This sin was played as a trapper till lvl 63 (lvl 1 Lightning Sentry buffed up with +skills gear gave enough damage to roast most early NM monsters).

For this character I made a small exception - the Maul was replaced with Firelizard's Talon. Reasons - IK Maul is a clumsy, weak, slow and generally useless weapon for a bear sin.

This guardian was nice. Shaeled Firelizard's Talod provided nice overall damage and good attack speed - 5fpa.

Large crowds were not a problem - Cloak of shadows and Death Sentry provided great assistance along the journey through Hell difficulty. There are two things putting me to frustration in this char though:

1). Shadow constantly casting Mind Blast. Sometimes it's useful, and sometimes monsters almost killed by you are converted.

A note on a side: converted Flayer Shamans resurrect hostile Flayers.

2). Transparent bear is transparent. Sometimes it was hard to find Buakaw in the screen.

...I wish I'll shop a 3fpa Claw someday. Anyway, a pretty entertaining character.

Player settings:

Normal - 8

NM - 8

Hell - 3 (Nilly - 1)

Skills:

maxed Claw Mastery, Venom, Fade and Shadow Master; rest went to Death Sentry.

Equipment:

Firelizard's Talon [shael]

IK boots, belt, armour [Rusty jewel of Fervor]

Buakaw's IK gloves

Guillaume's face [Realgar jewel]

Raven Frost

Highlord's Wrath

Plague Finger crafted ring

A bunch of various charms (AR and +max damage mostly)

Mercenary - Might:

Crown of Thieves

Durex Kraken Shell

Reaper's Toll

Random Screenies:

1 2 3



7. Guardian Athena, the Enchantress.

All right, this one was really quick. God bless teleport, in nomine patris, et filii, at spiritus sancti, amen. Starting from lvl 18 and till Hell I just teleported thru the game and stopped only to do quest related stuff.

And, as any self respecting enchantress, I had to use a set of prebuff gear to maximize damage output.

When I finally managed to take all pieces of equipment together, I thpught that IK set is a sorc set, not a barb's one. Srsly, what barbarian can deal 10k-17k per hit with IK set??

The mobility and power were easily balanced with fragility of the character, so I had to play really carefully (barb was obviously easier).

Hell was beaten at p5 in no time, however. Nilly was killed at p3. First I wanted to use Corpsemourn for CE charges, but then I thought that accurate and careful repositioning via Teleport would be enough to do the job (and I appeared to be right).

Melee sorcs rock, and they always will.

Player settings:

Normal - 8

NM - 8

Hell - 3 (Nilly - 1)

Skills:

maxed Enchant, Warmth, FIre Mastery and Lightning Mastery. One-pointers are Static Field, Teleport and Cold Mastery. Rest went to Freezing Armour.

Equipment:

Athena's IK Maul [shael shael]

IK boots, belt, armour [Rusty jewel of Fervor], gloves

Harlequin's Crest [Perfect Diamond]

Raven Frost

Mara's Kaleidoscope

Plague Finger crafted ring

A bunch of various charms (AR and lightning damage mostly; 2 Fire Skillers)

Prebuff gear (stored in stash):

Volcanic Coronet of something

Volcanic Amulet of something else

SoJ, BKWB, Arachnid

Magefists

Occy

Enlightenment Ring Mail

Mercenary - Might:

Crown of Thieves

Leviathan

Reaper's Toll

Random Screenies:

1 2 3



Good Finds:

All goodies found by sept chars were stored into special stash. By the way, I collected every single rune I saw and I'll list them separately.

Runes:


Code:

13            El Rune
11            Eld Rune
27            Tir Rune
19            Nef Rune
39            Eth Rune
27            Ith Rune
56            Tal Rune
33            Ral Rune
31            Ort Rune
22            Thul Rune
24            Amn Rune
21            Sol Rune
15            Shael Rune
13            Dol Rune
8            Hel Rune
10            Io Rune
5            Lum Rune
3            Ko Rune
3            Fal Rune
3            Lem Rune
4            Pul Rune
2            Um Rune
2            Ist Rune
1            Gul Rune
2            Lo Rune
1            Ber Rune

Items (only notable ones are listed):


Code:

Gladiator's Bane
Wizardspike
Witchwild String
Bonehew
Djinn Slayer
Lightsabre
Bloodmoon
Maelstrom
Cat's Eye
Dwarf Star
Wolfhowl x2
Herald of Zakarum x2
Gheed's Fortune
Mavina's Caster GMB
Plain Lightning Skiller
Sharp Grand Charm of Dexterity

If you are still reading this wall of text (dammit... I wanted to be brief), thank you for your attention.

P.S.

Another note on a side.

Inner Cloister location has an image of Bayeux Tapestry on a wall:

1 2 3

P.P.S. Sorry for all typos and mistakes.|||Nicely done, congratulations! And well-written up. There are a lot of nice techniques in there.

I kind of like translucent bears, usually via Treachery.

I had a nice experience with an IK fireclaws bear ImmolateKing during a period when I tried a bunch of bear builds, although I never tried the Hunger route. Beast is very attractive to me and I have a bunch of gear meant for eventual bear builds but I still haven't made Beast yet.|||*applauds*

Nice idea on the sept and it only taking a year gives me hope for mine. I noticed the Bayeux tapestry thing a couple of days ago; D2 is awesome for all the little details, and still spotting new ones is great in such an old game.|||TLDR.



only 7? nub.



i mean um...here have a beverage *beverages* grats on the bearsept. i love it. as my love for bears is well known i find it awesome|||A HC sept? Sweet. Grats! Also, a Ber from questing is a freakin cool find. No respecs, too.

Well done!

--Greebo|||Bayeux Tapestry was a very good detail. Well done, sir! Nice freaking rune finds.|||Congrats on the sept, Bear+LR must have been too easy

Nice find tapestry by the way, it seems even after all these years, every third time I open a thread, I learn something new :o I'll look it up if I pass those parts again ^^|||Awesome job on the write up, and an even better job on the sept. Why out of all possible routes, and combinations, did you choose an IK sept? Also one question in the write up for your sorc you say "Hell was beaten at p5 in no time, however. Nilly was killed at p3." Yet the player settings you typed in the write up say p3 for hell and p1 for nilly?

Nice job noticing the visual details also, I've always held a special place in my heart for DII details most people don't notice.|||coulda sworn i posted in this thread.... anyway. congrats on the HC sept. i did have one question though, how come you broke ranks as it were with a different sin weapon but then complained about the zon?

not a true sept till they all use the same stuff |||Quote:




Awesome job on the write up, and an even better job on the sept. Why out of all possible routes, and combinations, did you choose an IK sept? Also one question in the write up for your sorc you say "Hell was beaten at p5 in no time, however. Nilly was killed at p3." Yet the player settings you typed in the write up say p3 for hell and p1 for nilly?

Nice job noticing the visual details also, I've always held a special place in my heart for DII details most people don't notice.




I had IK set and Beast, so why not?

The player settings section has a typo. 6 of 7 player setting sections were mave via ctrl+c, ctrl+v, then some edit, and I'm kind of inattentive.


Quote:




coulda sworn i posted in this thread.... anyway. congrats on the HC sept. i did have one question though, how come you broke ranks as it were with a different sin weapon but then complained about the zon?




You see, an IK maul is just a very inconvinient weapon for a bearsin. All other chars in the sept have something to like in the IK set (elemental damage, badass aura, etc). An assasin doesn't get anything good from IK weapon: she does not need rainbow damage, she cannot increase her attack rating and phys damage, the attack speed also sucks. So I thought that an exception was a good idea.

While amazon here does not have any particular preferences. Damage dealt and attack rating is increased for any weapon, including IK maul. I'm not complaining about her performance, I'm complaining about the build and character itself.


Quote:




I never tried the Hunger route.




In retrospect, I think I should have made a mauler or a FC bear, but basically they are pretty item independent, while Kodiak relies heavily on the elemental damage from IK maul - and I initially wanted a char built arount these particular items.


Quote:




Nice find tapestry by the way




Indeed

Any other findings of this kind?


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Nicely done, congratulations!





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*applauds*





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grats on the bearsept. i love it.





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Sweet. Grats!





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Nice freaking rune finds.





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Congrats on the sept





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Awesome job





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congrats on the HC sept






Thanks guys




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not a true sept till they all use the same stuff





Quote:




only 7? nub.






this

Matriarch Blaze - Firedancer

Blaze

I shopped a +5 Wake of Fire claw whilst looking for LS claws a while ago. When I imbued a second +5 WoF claw, some kind of fire traper was clearly on the table. As WoF only requires 60 points to be fully synergised, there is plenty of room for customisation.

Blaze's name is derived from the 1960s British comic strip character Modesty Blaise. Modesty is the kind of no nonsense, leather clad, high kicking character that fits well with a kicker. Add fire traps and Blaise became Blaze.



Stats

Name: Blaze

Class: Assassin

Experience: 1056177997

Level: 85

Naked/Gear

Strength: 110/236

Dexterity: 130/159

Vitality: 255/260

Energy: 25/30

HP: 983/1006

Mana: 151/257

Stamina: 493/513

Defense: 32/1870

AR: 100000614/100001055

Fire: 95/55/-5

Cold: 158/118/58

Lightning: 154/114/54

Poison: 69/29/-31

(+47 to all these from level 7 Fade)

MF: 88 Block: 60

GF: 0

FR/W: 105

FHR: 24

IAS: 65

FCR: 30



Skills

Fire Blast: 20/33

Wake of Fire: 20/33 (43 on claw switch)

Wake of Inferno: 20/33

That gave WoF damage on claw switch of 1050-1184 per shot, 672-764 on kicking switch.

Claw Mastery: 1/7

Psychic Hammer: 1/7

Burst of Speed: 1/7

Weapon Block: 1/7

Cloak of Shadows: 1/7

Fade: 1/7

Shadow Warrior: 1/7

Mind Blast: 1/7

Venom: 16/22

Shadow Master: 1/7

Dragon Talon: 8/14

Dragon Claw: 1/7

Dragon Tail: 1/7

Dragon Flight: 1/7



Equipment

Weapon: Stormlash 'Shael'

Shield: Stormshield

Switch Weapon: Cunning Greater Talons with +2 WoF

Switch Shield: Eagle Barb Rare Runic Talons - +2 Traps, +3 WoF

Helm: Rare - Doom Cowl - +2 Assassin, 20FCR, 30FRW

Armour: Enigma

Belt: Crafted 24FHR, 10%OW and resists

Boots: Gore Rider Myrmidon Greaves

Gloves: Dracul's Grasp

Amulet: 25% Mara's

Ring1: Ravenfrost

Ring2: Dread Knot - 10FCR, Mana Leech, AR, Resists

Inventory: 7x Trap Skillers, SCs with resists and mana, both tomes.

Equipment Readouts:



Spoiler



Code:

Cunning Greater Talons of the Wraith
Greater Talons
One Hand Damage: 21 - 35
Durability: 68 of 69
Required Level: 45
Required Strength: 79
Required Dexterity: 79
Fingerprint: 0x6f09366f
Item Level: 98
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+3 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+40% Increased Attack Speed
6% Mana stolen per hit
+2 to Wake of Fire (Assassin Only)
+2 to Wake of Inferno (Assassin Only)
+1 to Mind Blast (Assassin Only)
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Shael Rune

Eagle Barb
Runic Talons
One Hand Damage: 27 - 70
Durability: 69 of 69
Required Level: 60
Required Strength: 115
Required Dexterity: 115
Fingerprint: 0x966300da
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
15% Enhanced Damage
+20 to Maximum Damage
+22% Damage to Demons
+29 to Attack Rating against Demons
Adds 7 Poison Damage Over 3 Secs (75 Frames)
6% Life stolen per hit
+3 to Wake of Fire (Assassin Only)
+3 to Blade Fury (Assassin Only)
+3 to Dragon Flight (Assassin Only)
All Resistances +12
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Scintillating Jewel

Stormlash
Scourge
One Hand Damage: 10 - 273
Durability: 63 of 65
Required Level: 82
Required Strength: 125
Required Dexterity: 77
Fingerprint: 0x200ecae1
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
15% Chance to cast level 10 Static Field on striking
20% Chance to cast level 18 Tornado on striking
+50% Increased Attack Speed
242% Enhanced Damage
+150% Damage to Undead
Adds 1 - 473 Lightning Damage
33% Chance of Crushing Blow
+5 Lightning Absorb
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 30
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune

Stormshield
Monarch
Defense: 464
Chance to Block: 47
Durability: 84 of 86
Required Level: 73
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0x7cfc419f
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Indestructible
+35% Faster Block Rate
25% Increased Chance of Blocking
+318 Defense (Based on Character Level)
+30 to Strength
Cold Resist +60%
Lightning Resist +25%
Fire Resist +40%
Damage Reduced by 35%
Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 10
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Perfect Ruby

Doom Cowl
Diadem
Defense: 89
Durability: 15 of 20
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x862052d0
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
+30% Faster Run/Walk
+15% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Cast Rate
+46% Enhanced Defense
Cold Resist +19%
Lightning Resist +26%
1 Sockets (1 used)
Socketed: Sapphire Jewel of Fervor

Enigma
Breast Plate
JahIthBer
Defense: 825
Durability: 37 of 50
Required Level: 65
Required Strength: 30
Fingerprint: 0x1d34cc49
Item Level: 20
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
+45% Faster Run/Walk
+1 to Teleport
+757 Defense
+63 to Strength (Based on Character Level)
Increase Maximum Life 5%
Damage Reduced by 8%
+14 Life after each Kill
15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
85% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items (Based on Character Level)
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Jah Rune
Socketed: Ith Rune
Socketed: Ber Rune

Mara's Kaleidoscope
Amulet
Required Level: 67
Fingerprint: 0x6c66bea
Item Level: 87
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to All Skills
All Stats +5
All Resistances +25

Raven Frost
Ring
Required Level: 45
Fingerprint: 0x38d2ac84
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+177 to Attack Rating
Adds 15 - 45 Cold Damage Over 4 Secs (100 Frames)
+19 to Dexterity
+40 to Mana
Cold Absorb 20%
Cannot Be Frozen

Dread Knot
Ring
Required Level: 46
Fingerprint: 0x2d35cbc8
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+10% Faster Cast Rate
+119 to Attack Rating
4% Mana stolen per hit
Cold Resist +24%
Poison Resist +6%
Damage Reduced by 2

Storm Chain
Mithril Coil
Defense: 108
Durability: 10 of 16
Required Level: 78
Required Strength: 106
Fingerprint: 0x95d4d7c0
Item Level: 90
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+24% Faster Hit Recovery
2% Life stolen per hit
10% Chance of Open Wounds
+65% Enhanced Defense
+11 to Life
Lightning Resist +16%
Poison Resist +8%

Gore Rider
Myrmidon Greaves
Defense: 207
Durability: 30 of 34
Required Level: 72
Required Strength: 156
Fingerprint: 0xf2ff2d5a
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+30% Faster Run/Walk
15% Chance of Crushing Blow
15% Deadly Strike
10% Chance of Open Wounds
+197% Enhanced Defense
+20 Maximum Stamina
Required Level +7
Requirements -25%
+10 Maximum Durability

Dracul's Grasp
Vampirebone Gloves
Defense: 138
Durability: 7 of 14
Required Level: 76
Required Strength: 50
Fingerprint: 0x471bf8f1
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 10 Life Tap on striking
10% Life stolen per hit
25% Chance of Open Wounds
+110% Enhanced Defense
+13 to Strength
+10 Life after each Kill

Entrapping Grand Charm of Quality
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x886b2bac
Item Level: 85
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+2 to Maximum Damage

Entrapping Grand Charm of Dexterity
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xd0c15a1
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+3 to Dexterity

Entrapping Grand Charm of Incineration
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xc370b1b8
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
Adds 6 - 14 Fire Damage

Entrapping Grand Charm
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x600cb458
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)

Serpent's Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0xcf010699
Item Level: 73
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Strength
+16 to Mana

Serpent's Small Charm of Fortune
Small Charm
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0xaf07071e
Item Level: 81
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+16 to Mana
3% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

Entrapping Grand Charm of Life
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x94bc5452
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+12 to Life

Entrapping Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0x8c5a6df9
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+6 to Strength

Entrapping Grand Charm of Strength
Grand Charm
Required Level: 42
Fingerprint: 0xcdc88479
Item Level: 99
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+1 to Trap Skills (Assassin Only)
+5 to Strength

Amber Small Charm of Dexterity
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xb1c3d3e1
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Dexterity
Lightning Resist +11%

Serpent's Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0x9f36f038
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+17 to Mana

Serpent's Small Charm of Flame
Small Charm
Required Level: 40
Fingerprint: 0x3b14b5cc
Item Level: 70
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Adds 1 - 2 Fire Damage
+17 to Mana

Amber Small Charm of Strength
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0xf0d700ab
Item Level: 83
Version: Expansion 1.10+
+2 to Strength
Lightning Resist +10%

Amber Small Charm
Small Charm
Required Level: 32
Fingerprint: 0x72218a50
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
Lightning Resist +11%

Mercenary Equipment

Mercenary Type: A2 NM Defensive

Helm: Tal Rasha's HC

Armour: Treachery

Weapon: Infinity



Spoiler



Code:

Tal Rasha's Horadric Crest
Death Mask
Defense: 131
Durability: 10 of 20
Required Level: 66
Required Strength: 55
Fingerprint: 0x7686e4d8
Item Level: 86
Version: Expansion 1.10+
10% Mana stolen per hit
10% Life stolen per hit
+45 Defense
+60 to Life
+30 to Mana
All Resistances +15

Treachery
Ornate Plate
ShaelThulLem
Defense: 1009
Durability: 31 of 31
Required Level: 43
Required Strength: 160
Fingerprint: 0xc591f1b3
Item Level: 88
Version: Expansion 1.10+
5% Chance to cast level 15 Fade when struck
25% Chance to cast level 15 Venom on striking
+2 to Assassin Skill Levels
+45% Increased Attack Speed
+20% Faster Hit Recovery
Cold Resist +30%
50% Extra Gold from Monsters
Ethereal
3 Sockets (3 used)
Socketed: Shael Rune
Socketed: Thul Rune
Socketed: Lem Rune

Infinity
Thresher
BerMalBerIst
Two Hand Damage: 71 - 833
Durability: 33 of 33
Required Level: 63
Required Strength: 142
Required Dexterity: 108
Fingerprint: 0x2c532938
Item Level: 80
Version: Expansion 1.10+
50% Chance to cast level 20 Chain Lightning when you Kill an Enemy
Level 12 Conviction Aura When Equipped
+35% Faster Run/Walk
295% Enhanced Damage
-53% to Enemy Lightning Resistance
40% Chance of Crushing Blow
Prevent Monster Heal
+42 to Vitality (Based on Character Level)
30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Level 21 Cyclone Armor (30/30 Charges)
Ethereal
4 Sockets (4 used)
Socketed: Ber Rune
Socketed: Mal Rune
Socketed: Ber Rune
Socketed: Ist Rune

Finds

Hellforge: Lum NM, Lum Hell. It seems to be raining Lums for me at the moment.

Atma's Scarab from one of the Council Members in Durance 3, that's about all that stands out.



Thoughts

I finished Blaze back in the spring, but it has taken me a bit of time to get around to doing the write up. She is my 15th Assassin Matriarch to date, I have at least 3 more Assassin builds I want to try before D3.

Wake of fire is a bit different in the way it plays compared to Lightning Sentry. It only has five shots for a start, which means you spend a lot more time laying traps. It can however cover a huge area, which makes from some very pretty effects. It was extremely powerful, even without Infiinity, from late normal to mid NM. Clearing tombs with it in Act 2 (which, as I normally play melee characters, I particularly hate - too many un-leechables) was very slick. All those packs of Unravellers and Skeletons were swiftly flamed. It worked well with Infinity too, but I don't think WoF is powerful enough as a stand alone skill in Hell without Infinity.

I don't really like switching weapons when I play, I prefer to keep the right mouse button held down and toggle skills with hot keys. So in reality I didn't use those claws as much as I could have. Stormlash is awesome as a kicker weapon. The conviction and static, combined with even the lower damage traps from casting on the kicking switch, was pretty devastating. Add in the 48% total crushing blow and lifetap for boss killing, and it all fits together pretty nicely. Andariel was obviously a fairly easy kill with the traps but The Ancients definately required the 'lash.

This character was planned as a possible PvP Fire Trap / Kicker (aka Firedancer) following this build outline, hence the reason some of the stat and skill allocations may be a bit odd. I did actually mess up the stat points a bit, but that is what 1.13 re-specs are for. For a pure PvM build, I would probably have put enough points in DT to get to at least four kicks, and then pumped venom last. I was planning to level her up to about 92 without re-specs, but I don't relish doing this with her, especially at /players8. I could probably run the Mausoleum with her, but I find the distribution of boss packs there too thin. So, if I decide to use her for PvP, I will probably end up re-speccing her to a Lightning Trapper, running Baal and re-speccing her back.

Enigma wasn't really necessary, I was mainly as I was considering her for PvP, I didn't teleport that much PvM. The skills, strength boost and FRW are always nice though. Chains of Honour or Treachery would have worked equally well.

If you want to see some more, you will have to join PvP Week 7



What Next?

I'm currently levelling up my trapper ready for PvP Week. I'm also running the council with a WW barb, until he gets to about level 92. Then I think it is time to start a final sept.|||.....15 assassin mats? you crazy.



what are the other 3?



also grats on the mats|||A nicely put together character, max~

Brings back some serious memories. Anyway, best of luck in the duels. A character like this really needs it. ;.; Really fun to play though, and stupidly potent versus some builds.

Bonus congrats for getting me to actually... click/read a thread in SPF. :S|||Congrats.

I guess you could say she doesn't have...cold feet *ba-dum-tsshh*|||I was hot-footing it here to make the same joke...

Congrats, its a cool sounding Mat to make. I love assassins so some of these weird builds are a great inspiration.|||Congrats, and awesome gear. I love how pretty wake of fire is and how large of an area it covers, but absolutely hate its lack of longevity. If you lay five of them, the first one is gone by the time you switch weapons and kick something.|||Grats!

That is a very interesting character. Awesome claws. All very cool. Nice screenshots.

Once I start playing Sins seriously, I will be sure to check out all your Mat threads. 15 is a very impressive number.

Good luck in the duels!

--Greebo|||Thanks for the comments everyone


Quote:








A nicely put together character, max~

Brings back some serious memories. Anyway, best of luck in the duels. A character like this really needs it. ;.; Really fun to play though, and stupidly potent versus some builds.




Yes, I remember your fire trapper well. I'm not sure if I will level her up yet, before PvP week and I still have some gear decisions to make for PvP. Did you go fade or BoS? I'm leaning towards BoS as then I can dual Um one of the claws, but then the resists suck which probably means using Kira's. Are we going to see you in PvP Week?


Quote:








Congrats, and awesome gear. I love how pretty wake of fire is and how large of an area it covers, but absolutely hate its lack of longevity. If you lay five of them, the first one is gone by the time you switch weapons and kick something.




Thats one of the reasons I found myself not switching weapons much of the time. The attacks flow so much better if you don't switch.


Quote:








.....15 assassin mats? you crazy.

what are the other 3?




One I'm keeping under wraps for now. I'm planning a Blade Fury assassin around Ceramic Weasels BF observations in the assassin forum, and a Werebear, but probably with eBoTD Colossus Blade instead of the Jewelers RTs of Quickness. I'm also contemplating a max cold damage Rift Kicker (Infinity, facets etc.), so maybe there are four. Then I need another one to bring it to twenty...|||Not a big fan of Fade on anything with kicks, plus my ladies always featured Widowmaker anyway, so yeah...

GL either way. Kira's is nice, but charms pretty much did it for me.

(10% chance of stopping in for game or two PvP week... if there's time and someone reminds me to go.)|||Masterfully done you magnificent beast.

Time Travelling the SPF Way

Someone asked me to write a short guide about the most played previous patches. This is what i thusfar came up with. I don't feel it's nearly comprehensive enough, but then again, it should be a short guide one why to play these patches. I turn to you folks to ask what is missing and what shouldn't be in it? Any suggestions about the layout? Any suggestions at all?

__________________________________________________ _________________________________________________



Ladies and Gentlemen.

Wax your De Loriens, charge your flux capacitors and watch the lightning strike the church clock. We're going timetravelling. [1.07, 1.09, 1.10a and 1.10s]

This is a short guide to 'going back to previous patches', also known as timetravelling. But before you go there i'll lay down the basic laws of time so you won't get sucked into your own black hole and destroy the universe with it.

The 3 laws of timetravelling.

1. You will never bring characters and/or item back into the past. The risk of identical matter meeting and exploding the universe is to big.
   


2. There is only one valid timeline: [1.07 -> 1.09 -> 1.10a -> 1.10s]. Although 1.10a and 1.10s are compatible, bringing a char/item from 1.10s to 1.10a violates law 1.
   


3. Bringing items from acient times is hard to cope with for some lactose intolerant people (anti-cheesers). They bring great power and so people will deem you as 'hax*' (*not meaning you hack or playing unlegitly, but you borderline it). You do this at your own risk, but please respect other peoples feelings when it comes to MP'ing. 1.11b is the standart.

Much has been written already about acient times and i'm not going to write it all again. But i will try to give a short overview on why (or why not) to play previous patches.

1.07

• +
  
  Broken crafting recipes. Resulting in 30%lifeleech rings or otherwise 'hax' gear.
  
  Broken 'hidden modifier' cube reipes. 37 mana/kill - 10% fcr ring anyone?
  
  Broken '+damage'-charms. smallcharms up to +12 maxdamage, grandcharms up to +40
  
  Some very good uniques can be found.
  
  Racking will in the end deliver those uniques.
  
  Static field will destroy anything not lightning immune even in hell.
  
  Coldmastery pierces cold immunes
  
  Good for rushing character.
  
  You can find the infamous 1.07/1.09 (they are the same) ravenclaw. It has a req. lvl of 15 and fires lvl 33(?) exploding arrows.
  
  Etherial weapons will have an extra 50% enhanced damage when you bring them forward to 1.12
  
  Etherial armors have maximum possible defence
  
  -
  
  Slow leveling (no /players command)
  
  Nasty teleporting/healing/multishot/element-enchanted monsters
  
  Most uniques don't come anywhere near their 1.11 counterparts.
  
  Hell hellforge only drops runes up to um
  
  MF% works in odd ways. It's near useless, unless you reach certain breakpoints. See Repusz guide for more info.
  
  Paladin shield have lower defence then their 1.12 counterparts and don't go up when you bring them forward

Monsters cannot drop item higher then TC63 <------(?)

Great books of history:

1.07 guide, by Repusz

Addendum to 1.07 guide, by Yiuman

1.07 timetravellers bar

1.08

• +
  
  Very much like 1.07.
  
  Better chances of racking a unique 1/800 vs. 1/1000
  
  Paladin shield have 'normal'(1.12 like) defence
  
  Monsters can now drop higher TC items
  
  windforce has +35 dex, Stormspire was an Archon staff (stylepoints), but don't expect to find either of these.
  
  -
  
  Very much like 1.07
  
  But MF is completely broken (Doesn't work at all)
  
  Etherial bonusses on items are just as in 1.12
  
  No more maxdamage charms
  
  No more broken cube recipies

1.09

• +
  
  Ultrafast leveling, thanks to the now introduced /players x command and hell cows.
  
  Static field will destroy anything not lightning immune even in hell.
  
  Good for rushing character.
  
  +5%frw smallcharms
  
  Nasty monster as in 1.07 are toned down a bit.
  
  Introduction of many of the uniques with the same stats as they have in 1.11
  
  You can find the infamous 1.07/1.09 (they are the same) ravenclaw. It has a req. lvl of 15 and fires lvl 33(?) exploding arrows.
  
  uber burizza pwnage
  
  -
  
  Missing the uber 1.07 charms/uniques
  
  Hell hellforge only drops runes up to um
  
  Cowruns are utterly boring

1.10a

• +
  
  Just one thing to make it worthwile, +2 to all skills bul-kathos' wedding band.
  
  -
  
  Getting mf gear and run hell andariel like crazy isn't much fun

1.10s

• +
  
  1.10s beta runewords. Mostly Call to arms, Crescent moon and Bramble. (see wiki for the stats.)
  
  -
  
  Runes are most likely to be gotten with forge rushing in 1.07/1.09 and collecting in 1.10s. Character most likely to be the collecter is a sorceress. Point of story: Coldmastery in 1.10a/s sucks, only -3% per level. Be aware of that

|||Isn't one of the benefits of 1.10 the synergy bug? Like where wearing Carrion Wind would act as a slvl 20 synergy for Rabies?

Looks pretty good, Jae. I think I'll see this in the stickies someday.|||Oh look, a psychic Swiller.

|||Nicely done! Points out what matters and it all fits on one page. |||Quote:








Oh look, a psychic Swiller.






I also for-see that you will make a dry, humorous comment in the near future, and that sirpoopsalot will drink tequilla. Psychic Swiller is never wrong.|||Quote:








[LIST=1][*]You will never bring characters and/or item back into the past. The risk of identical matter meeting and exploding the universe is to big.

[*]There is only one valid timeline: [1.07 -> 1.09 -> 1.10a -> 1.10s]. Although 1.10a and 1.10s are compatible, bringing a char/item from 1.10s to 1.10a violates law 1.




Not sure how you plan on moving items from 1.10 to 1.09, the .d2s files are plain incompatible. 1.10a and 1.10s should be incompatible too.


Quote:




You can find the infamous 1.07/1.09 (they are the same) ravenclaw. It has a req. lvl of 15 and fires lvl 33(?) exploding arrows.

Etherial weapons will have an extra 50% enhanced damage when you bring them forward to 1.12




Slvl 30, which only counts 1.10 and higher. Ethereal weapons have +50% enhanced maximum dmg, added ontop of regular ed% if present (for the max dmg only, so a 1.07 ethereal weapon with 200% ed gets +200% ed to min dmg, and +250% ed to max dmg).


Quote:




Hell hellforge only drops runes up to um

Monsters cannot drop item higher then TC63 <------(?)




Sol-Um for Hell Helforge. TC66 is where non-actbosses cap out at. Act bosses always use their TCs from normal.


Quote:




Ultrafast leveling, thanks to the now introduced /players x command and hell cows.

Static field will destroy anything not lightning immune even in hell.

You can find the infamous 1.07/1.09 (they are the same) ravenclaw. It has a req. lvl of 15 and fires lvl 33(?) exploding arrows.




That's just 'players x', and SF is capped like in 1.11.



Beta CtA was only AmnRalMalIst in 1.10a, same stats as in 1.10s. Bringing it forward will turn it into an Ith, so keep it in 1.10a.

Also, 1.10a does not having a working muling program.

1.07

LR/Amp/Decrep works at full power, even against immunes.

1.09

Mastery bugs: Claw mastery switches the values for ar and ed% boni than what is listed, for all masteries the crit chance is 100% at all Slvls.

1.09b has players 64, and working CtC. 1.09d has players 8 and borked CtC (graphic, but no dmg).

1.10 betas (a or s, can't remember)

CE scaled with players

ed% vs demons/undead was multiplicative with skill ed%

Range on melee weapons didn't always work right, and monsters/players could attack/be attacked through walls|||very well done!

Now here are 2 points that caught my attention:

- eth weapons not only do 50% more damage if brought forward to 1.12, but from 1.09 on. Also it's only 50% more max damage IIRC?

- not only ethereal armors have max defense but also superior armors with +X% defense, since every normal armor (don't know about magical/rare ones though...set and unique armors on the other hand always have max defense) with +X% defense has max defense.

It would be nice if we had a character build section for the different versions...I can't seem to find more than the odd one in the depths of the internet...|||@swiller

Actually, I picked up a fresh bottle of tequila yesterday... you're really good; Miss Cleo's got nothing on you.

*****

Jae, overall it looks really good. Here's my small contribution(s)

- "You will never bring characters and/or item back into the past..." not to mention this can get you banned in these parts <-- you might want to mention that.

- "There is only one valid timeline: [1.07 -> 1.09 -> 1.10a -> 1.10s" <-- but you can skip a step or two going forward.

- the 1.07/1.09 Ravenclaw fires level30 Explosive arrows - but only after upgrading it to 1.10+. I think if you leave it in 1.07/1.09, it's the same crappy bow as in later versions... I think.

edit: too slow.|||Thanks guys. I'll update the miniguide soon. Maybe we can have some people make small character build guides. At least for 1.07. (I only made 2 sorcs, so i'm not an expert)

And please keep ideas/comments coming. The more, the merrier.|||Hmm, how can I get patch 1.09?

Matriarch Arcadia - Kicksin

Matriarch Arcadia - Kicksin

Note: This is my first official Mat/Pat thread, although this is most definitely not my first Mat/Pat.

Introduction

Ever since my Classic WW Barb, Lux-Aeterna, hit level 90, my interest in D2 has been on the wane. I attribute this mostly to the fact that solo levelling in Classic is tedious to the extent that it sucks the very essence of life from your soul. I love Classic, but I am not particularly fond of functioning as a mindless drone when I am not a work.

In order to reinvigorate my interest in D2, I decided to try out some sort of fun build. My initial thoughts were BearSin and BearSorc, but then my mind switched into theorycraft mode and produced something I could really get behind:

Kicksin w/ Fanatacism + Concentration + Might + Amplify Damage

And so it came to pass that, following an excessive amount of LK/Travincal running, Arcadia was born!


Code:

Character name  : Arcadia
Character type  : Assassin
Character level : 79
Character exp   : 653235186

Strength        : 101 (223)
Energy          : 25  (35)
Dexterity       : 160 (180)
Vitality        : 204 (204)

Life            : 926 / 818 (1384)
Mana            : 272 / 142 (415)
Stamina         : 442 / 422 (690)

Fire res        : 5  (72)
Cold res        : 65 (75)
Lightning res   : 30 (80)
Poison res      : 75 (75)

LCS

Skills

Martial Arts

Shadow Disciplines

Traps

Gear

Arcadia

Helm: Demon Crest (Um)

Amulet: Atma's Scarab

Weapon1: 'Beast' War Axe

Weapon2: 'Call to Arms' Crystal Sword

Armour: 'Fortitude' Archon Plate

Shield1: Stormshield (Um)

Shield2: 'Spirit' Monarch

Gloves: Raven Hold

Ring1: Raven Frost

Belt: Nosferatu's Coil

Ring2: Doom Grasp

Boots: Gore Rider (Upped)



Spoiler


Demon Crest

Circlet

'Um'

Defense: 24

Durability: 32 of 35

Required Level: 67

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 94

Fingerprint: 0x2752690b

+29 to Strength

+66 to Mana

Damage Reduced by 5

All Resistances +25

6% Mana stolen per hit

+2 to Assassin Skill Levels

Socketed (1: 1 used)

Atma's Scarab

Amulet

Required Level: 60

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 87

Fingerprint: 0x81ec5f56

Poison Resist +75%

+39 poison damage over 4 seconds

Attacker Takes Damage of 5

+3 to Light Radius

20% Bonus to Attack Rating

5% Chance to cast Level 2 Amplify Damage on striking

Beast

War Axe

'BerTirUmMalLum'

One-Hand Damage: 34 to 62

Durability: 26 of 26

Required Strength: 67

Required Level: 63

Axe Class - Very Fast Attack Speed

Item Version: 1.10+ Standard

Item Level: 71

Fingerprint: 0xc618f82f

+37 to Strength

+10 to Energy

+245% Enhanced Damage

40% Increased Attack Speed

+3 to Werebear

+3 to Lycanthropy

Prevent Monster Heal

25% Chance of Open Wounds

20% Chance of Crushing Blow

+2 to Mana After Each Kill

Level 9 Fanaticism Aura When Equipped

Level 13 Summon Grizzly (5/5 Charges)

Socketed (5: 5 used)

Call to Arms

Crystal Sword

'AmnRalMalIstOhm'

One-Hand Damage: 18 to 54

Durability: 20 of 20

Required Strength: 43

Required Level: 57

Sword Class - Very Fast Attack Speed

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 85

Fingerprint: 0x2462fa88

+260% Enhanced Damage

Adds 5-30 fire damage

7% Life stolen per hit

Replenish Life +12

30% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items

40% Increased Attack Speed

+4 to Battle Orders

+2 to Battle Cry

+4 to Battle Command

Prevent Monster Heal

+1 to All Skill Levels

Socketed (5: 5 used)

Fortitude

Archon Plate

'ElSolDolLo'

Defense: 1548

Durability: 50 of 60

Required Strength: 103

Required Level: 63

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 86

Fingerprint: 0x4078d742

+200% Enhanced Defense

+300% Enhanced Damage

+15 Defense

Damage Reduced by 7

Fire Resist +28%

Lightning Resist +28%

+5% to Maximum Lightning Resist

Cold Resist +28%

Poison Resist +28%

Replenish Life +7

+1 to Light Radius

25% Faster Cast Rate

12% Damage Taken Goes to Mana

20% Chance to cast Level 15 Chilling Armor when struck

+108 to Life (Based on Character Level)

Socketed (4: 4 used)

Stormshield

Monarch

'Um'

Defense: 442

Chance to Block: 72%

Required Strength: 156

Required Level: 73

Indestructible

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 87

Fingerprint: 0x94875963

+30 to Strength

+25% Increased Chance of Blocking

Damage Reduced by 35%

Fire Resist +22%

Lightning Resist +47%

Cold Resist +82%

Poison Resist +22%

35% Faster Block Rate

Attacker Takes Lightning Damage of 10

Indestructible

+296 to Defense (Based on Character Level)

Socketed (1: 1 used)

Spirit

Monarch

'TalThulOrtAmn'

Defense: 147

Chance to Block: 47%

Durability: 86 of 86

Required Strength: 156

Required Level: 54

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 79

Fingerprint: 0x91377876

+22 to Vitality

+112 to Mana

+250 Defense vs. Missile

Lightning Resist +35%

Cold Resist +35%

Poison Resist +35%

Attacker Takes Damage of 14

55% Faster Hit Recovery

35% Faster Cast Rate

+2 to All Skill Levels

+4 Magic Absorb

Socketed (4: 4 used)

Raven Hold

Vampirebone Gloves

Defense: 83

Durability: 12 of 14

Required Strength: 50

Required Level: 47

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 94

Fingerprint: 0x55cdcc9

+1 to Strength

+27% Enhanced Defense

+18 to Attack Rating

20% Increased Attack Speed

+2 to Martial Art Skills (Assassin Only)

Raven Frost

Ring

Required Level: 45

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 76

Fingerprint: 0x2335afc7

+20 to Dexterity

+40 to Mana

+229 to Attack Rating

Adds 15-45 cold damage over 4 seconds

20% Cold Absorb

Cannot Be Frozen

Nosferatu's Coil

Vampirefang Belt

Defense: 57

Durability: 8 of 14

Required Strength: 50

Required Level: 51

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 94

Fingerprint: 0xbc73a234

+15 to Strength

7% Life stolen per hit

-3 to Light Radius

10% Increased Attack Speed

+2 to Mana After Each Kill

Slows Target by 10%

Doom Grasp

Ring

Required Level: 47

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 75

Fingerprint: 0xcdef5183

+10 to Strength

+7 to Mana

+119 to Attack Rating

Magic Damage Reduced by 2

5% Life stolen per hit

Gore Rider

Myrmidon Greaves

Defense: 197

Durability: 33 of 34

Kick Damage: 83 to 149

Required Strength: 156

Required Level: 72

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 87

Fingerprint: 0x13b5ad91

+20 to Maximum Stamina

+190% Enhanced Defense

+10 Maximum Durability

Requirements -25%

Required Level +7

30% Faster Run/Walk

10% Chance of Open Wounds

15% Chance of Crushing Blow

15% Deadly Strike



Pratham (Mercenary)

Helm: Vampire Gaze

Weapon: 'Pride' Thresher (Ethereal)

Armour: 'Treachery' Dusk Shroud



Spoiler


Vampire Gaze

Grim Helm

Defense: 252

Durability: 36 of 40

Required Strength: 58

Required Level: 41

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 94

Fingerprint: 0x3eca81c2

+100% Enhanced Defense

Magic Damage Reduced by 13

Damage Reduced by 19%

Adds 6-22 cold damage over 4 seconds

8% Life stolen per hit

6% Mana stolen per hit

15% Slower Stamina Drain

Treachery

Dusk Shroud

'ShaelThulLem'

Defense: 459

Durability: 20 of 20

Required Strength: 77

Required Level: 49

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 84

Fingerprint: 0x76aee9ae

Cold Resist +30%

50% Extra Gold from Monsters

+2 to Assassin Skill Levels

45% Increased Attack Speed

20% Faster Hit Recovery

25% Chance to cast Level 15 Venom on striking

5% Chance to cast Level 15 Fade when struck

Socketed (3: 3 used)

Pride

Thresher

'ChamSurIoLo'

Two-Hand Damage: 18 to 211

Durability: 33 of 33

Required Dexterity: 108

Required Strength: 142

Required Level: 67

Polearm Class - Fast Attack Speed

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 85

Fingerprint: 0x4f673976

+10 to Vitality

Adds 50-280 lightning damage

Replenish Life +8

Hit Blinds Target +1

291% Bonus to Attack Rating

Freezes Target +3

20% Deadly Strike

Level 19 Concentration Aura When Equipped

25% Chance to cast Level 17 Fire Wall when struck

148% Extra Gold (Based on Character Level)

79% Damage to Demons (Based on Character Level)

Ethereal (Cannot be Repaired), Socketed (4: 4 used)



Gameplay

Overall, Arcadia was a dominatrix. No enemies posed a truly serious threat, although Arcadia did manage to die on four separate occasions due to significant errors on my part. Honestly, I could have probably avoided deaths altogether if I had just remembered that there were potions on my belt; I do believe I only ever used potions either between fights to counteract poison or after already performing a full retreat. Still, despite having to cope with my completely idiotic playstyle, Aracdia proved to be a true femme fatale.

Gearwise, Aradia started out twinked with some Envy gear, switched to RC + Twitch for Andariel, and then upgraded the RC to The General's Tan Do Li Ga + Swordback Hold for Duriel. The trifecta of Tan Do Li Ga + Twitch + Swordback was so effective that all three pieces remained equipped until replaced by the final gear selections at the end of NM. Even so, it may have been wise to replace the Swordback with something like a Gerke's Sanctuary when it became available, as I do blame the distinct lack of DR or %DR on the Swordback for Arcadia's death to a pack of Bone Fetishes. Anyway, once the final gear was equipped, Arcadia was able to lay waste to everything in sight at a phenomenal pace. I do somewhat regret just falling short of maxing Arcadia's fire resistance and having a 20% IAS overstack, but those seem like rather silly gripes in retrospect.

As far as general strategy goes, I am a fan of neither full clears nor single pass. Instead, I prefer to just dash from one quick levelling spot to the next. In practice, this means playing primarily at /p1 and paying little heed to anything that is not A1 Normal or general A5, with the possible exceptions of Normal Tombs and general CS. It is a strategy that works well, although it does tend to label most of the acts as little more than chores. I actually managed to surprise myself by bothering to complete all quests and collect all waypoints, although I only did so for the sake of this thread.

In terms of actual combat strategy, Arcadia mainly just telestomped anything worth killing and a few things things that were not. The fact that the DF --> DT --> DF... combination acted as both a means of transport and a means of slaughter was quite cool. Most of the crowd control was provide courtesy of Shadow Master, while Pratham served as a meatshield. As for utility spells, Cloak of Shadows was used somewhat regularly, Death Sentry was used situationally, and Mind Blast was only used under the most dire of circumstances (*cough*Nilhathak*cough*).

When it came time to face Hell Ancients, I am certain fight lasted no more than twenty seconds and it only lasted that long because I was fumbling with the PrtSc button. I still managed to botch the picture due to accidently killing Korlic while trying to get a shot of Arcadia kicking him, but, suffice it to say, the fight was pathetically easy.

Deaths

Arcadia died to the following enemies:

Normal Ancient Kaa the Soulless - Arcadia had just equipped the Tan Do Li Ga + Twitch + Swordback epic gear combo and I thought she was invincible. As it turns out, 5% poison resistance and an inability to hit the potion buttion will not suffice when you choose to do battle with Kaa whilst getting swarmed on all sides.

Lasersnake + Frenzytaur Bosspack - Arcadia was hopping around NM Crystalline Passage when I decided to activate an Evil Urn whilst being engaged by a bosspack of Frenzytaurs. She almost escaped, but I once again forgot to hit the potion button.

Bone Fetishes - Arcadia was clearing the NM Throne of Destruction when I decided telestomping a Vampire surrounded by Bone Fetishes was a good idea. I reckon there was enough time to escape, but my strategy instead involved Aracadia staying there and kicking whatever was next to her. Arcadia was still wearing Swordback, so I blame it.

Venom Lord Bosspack - Arcadia was prancing through Hell Outer Steppes on her way to visit Izual when I made her pounce on a bosspack of Venom Lords. Apparently her fire resistance at the time was lower than I realized. This instance prompted me to socket the Um into her Helm.

Drops

Hellforge - Amn/Hel/Um

Hell Baal's drop was atrocious as per usual, but NM Baal's drop more than makes up for it:



Spoiler


Ribcracker --> From NM Baal

Quarterstaff

Two-Hand Damage: 61 to 168

Durability: 20 of 130

Required Strength: 25

Required Level: 31

Staff Class - Fastest Attack Speed

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 75

Fingerprint: 0x3a169b64

+15 to Dexterity

+100% Enhanced Defense

+298% Enhanced Damage

+30 to Minimum Damage

+65 to Maximum Damage

+100 Defense

+100 Maximum Durability

50% Increased Attack Speed

50% Faster Hit Recovery

150% Damage to Undead

50% Chance of Crushing Blow

Seraph's Hymn --> From Hell Corpsefire

Amulet

Required Level: 65

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 82

Fingerprint: 0x4ca61d2f

+2 to Light Radius

25% Damage to Demons

33% Damage to Undead

+219 to Attack Rating against Demons

+197 to Attack Rating against Undead

+2 to All Skill Levels

+2 to Defensive Aura Skills (Paladin Only)

M'avina's True Sight --> From Hell Act III Unique Sewer Zombie

Diadem

Defense: 208

Durability: 14 of 20

Required Level: 64

Item Version: 1.10+ Expansion

Item Level: 87

Fingerprint: 0x612c06fc

+25 to Mana

+150 Defense

Replenish Life +10

30% Increased Attack Speed

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***

+1 to All Skill Levels

50% Bonus to Attack Rating

All Resistances +25

***Partial Set Item Bonuses***



Other Thoughts

-As effective as the Fanatacism + Concentration + Might + Amplify Damage combination was, I did expect slightly larger damage numbers given the fact that Myrmidon Greaves have the highest average base damage of any non-ethereal "weapon" in the game.

-A 'Phoenix' Monarch for even more damage would have been awesome.

-As great as Arcadia was, I will most likely delete her just as soon as I finish pillaging her socket quests.

-Apparently kicking does not result in any kind of durability loss.

-Considering how effective and easy to gear they are, it is surprising how few Kicksins are seen in tournaments.

-I only chose a Mercenary name Pratham so I could pretend he was Jason Statham.

All in all, I am incredibly satisfied with the way Arcadia turned out. The Fanatacism + Concentration + Might + Amplify Damage combination was most definitely overkill, but it made things interesting. I would certainly recommend this build to others, assuming they can afford the wealth of runewords required. I hope my next project is just as exhilarating.

Thanks for reading,

skipjack|||nice gear combo. i love the fact that shoes have the highest average base damage. if only a barb could use them as boxing gloves.|||Nice mat therer skipjack, looks like a tough lady, must have been fast with BoS on. Too bad you're trashing her

corax: Didn't all classes have a kick-attack once? Remember RTB once saying they had, but it got nerfed to barrel-opening thing. Even if the animation wouldn't be as sweet as the sin's, a barb kicking in anger would be the most comical thing ever -^|||Nice mat, and a nice write up man. Just one question, who is jason statham? I tried google with epic failure.|||Quote:








Just one question, who is jason statham?




|||lol, oh so epic.|||Congratulations on the matriarch, shame you will delete her though.


Quote:








-As effective as the Fanatacism + Concentration + Might + Amplify Damage combination was, I did expect slightly larger damage numbers given the fact that Myrmidon Greaves have the highest average base damage of any non-ethereal "weapon" in the game.




I'm probably stating the obvious here, but the issue is that you basically have no "on weapon" ED. Everything is off weapon, so not as effective. If you really want to optimise the damage, the Kicks section in the Assassin FAQ has it all.


Quote:








-A 'Phoenix' Monarch for even more damage would have been awesome.




I have never tried it myself, but apparently the 40% Chance To Cast Level 22 Firestorm On Striking plays havoc with the kicking animation, basically making Phoenix useless on a kicker.|||Grats!

That's a very decent circlet, you get bonus style points for using rare headgear.

Between Fade and Stormshield you went above the 50% cap on %DR, I think. %DR is not my favorite mod, personally. It gives false sense of security in my opinion: once you get amped, the damage you take triples. But that's my private opinion, people seem to love all kinds of PDR.

How often did the amp trigger? Was it reliable? I made a strafe-zon around ctc Amp and I was somewhat disappointed.

Nicely done!

--Greebo|||Thanks Everyone!

@maxicek: Yes, Phoenix would actually be quite terrible in practice, but I cannot deny how much sexier the upper portion of the LCS would be; as for the lower portion, I am sure the nerfed resistances would disgust me.

@Greebo: I had actually intended to equip a different Circlet, but the massive strength bonus was too good to pass up. I would have preferred not to waste an Um socketing it, but I have a fetish for maxed resistances.

By my calculations, Arcadia had an excess of 13% DR. This actually annoyed me a fair bit and I did consider switching to a Spike Thorn to bring the %DR back down to the cap, but that was clearly a terrible idea. I could have also invested less in Fade, but, as already mentioned, I have a max resistance fetish. Another option would have been PDR, which I do recognize as superior to %DR, but I try to be consistent and Fade demands %DR.

Amp was mostly there for bosses and physical immunes; against normal enemies, it was hardly relevant, although I doubt that would have been the case had I stuck to /p8. In any case, high AR combined with 5 kick cycles at 7/3 frames per kick ensured that Amp was applied quite quickly, even if very few enemies survived long enough to feel the effects.

Everybody should join the MFO wednesdaily ^^

So it's that time of the year again, summer, and wednesday -so it needs a daily.

Today will be a fine day, i'll probably quest a bit to save my baal muscle for the mfo, which everybody should join, and some snap-chip-shatter runs, because it 's just so much fun down there! There are gloams, frenzytaurs, and succubi! Too bad there aren't any OKs and 1.13 removed LR. Yes that's right, I'm a 1.13 noob, I made an enigma for my hammerdin only to find they buffed wave 2, so now I've got a CS/RoF runner

Last night we had a bit of a baal game going; first inter and I found ohm, then ng Lo, while we were debating who was to have it, vex dropped. Then inter left the game and the best find of the night from then was baal dropping gull and u-sabre at the same time. And an amn... Next time I'll fix inter to one of the pillars in the throne

Friday, the mfo will start, and it'll be grand once more. Remember how Serdash beat an entire atma score sheet out of the pits? Mungo winning with a crappy (untwinked, sorry Mungo but it's true ) char vs all the godly equipped 12+ hours/day running d2 hacks? Nagisa's rune hax? Idk when it was, but there were 2 Tyrael's in it? Somewhat longer ago, when DC won both Baal and Pindle? Epic times are once again upon us, it'll all happen again, and it'll happen in our lifetimes (assuming none of you kick off before the mfo), and hopefully next week. So don't miss it! Be able to tell your children "I was there!" ^^|||I have actually signed up for the MFO this time! I have read about the previous ones but always felt that I haven't had the good enough character to run with. This year I decided I will give it a try anyway! I have signed up for AT and my skelliemancer will run run run. I went through my gear collection yesterday and put on as much MF as I can, I think I have MF 244 now. Hope it helps :-)

RL: Swedish offices during July is veeeeery empty since almost everyone is on vacation. I will however hold the fort until Aug 8th when my relaxation will begin. Also my baby is due to show up September 19 so I guess my mobility will be somewhat limited anyway... Well , well. I can eat chocolate and play D2|||In sign of MFO

D2: All preparations for MFO are done (well most of them anyway). My runtimes are horrible, my luck showed me finger, my music is becoming boring and bleh.

Anyone has some good e-book? it worked pretty well for last MFO

RL: Not much. It's too hot to move and too hot to think.|||MFO daily eh?

D2: A bit more warm-up. There's really not much subtlety to an AT blizz sorc. Running oculus/nagel over fathom/fcr ring this time around - gotten used to the runs enough that the teleporting doesn't bother me anymore. Planning to significantly improve over my meager winter MFO totals of 700 runs and 3 grailers.

RL: Work, watch some cycling, and um... that's probably about it.|||RL: Eugh

D2: Not been able to play it for days! I'm off on Sunday though, so I'll be kicking the **** out of The Mausoleum all day

OVG: *giggle*

There May Be A Thursdaily

RL: So I'm on Day 11 of my P90 exercise regimen. Last night I treated myself to a pie and some wine, and some games with friends, and got hiccups, which is possibly my number one pet peeve in the world, especially when drinking. That's karma for you. Anyway. I lost eight pounds in nine days, with hopefully more to come, so I'm going to stick with it. Today it's a bit of productivity and chores followed by some games.

OVG: My friend somehow found me a fix for my broken DVD drive, so I can now play all my DVD-based games again, including the ones I've never played before, including Dead Space 2, Dead Rising 2, Bioshock 2, Homefront, Mass Effect 2, The Witcher 2 and Medal of Honor, as well as good ol' SWAT 4. I bought Atom Zombie Smasher (two hours before it went on sale), Terraria and HOARD on Steam, and I need to continue whoring myself out for these Steam tickets in the summer competition. HOARD is a lot more limited than the demo had me believe. Terraria is good, but suffers from some horrendous 2D building glitches, and texture confusion.|||RL: Back's been killing me here past couple of days... May have to actually go to the Doctor to try and get some relief. Ran with my puppy this morning. She didn't do too good today.

D2: Sure I'll play some.

OVG: Not 'til weekend. Little Big Planet. Reminds me of the Hitchhikers' Guide.|||Maybe if the daily wasn't made on the previous day, I would actually see it and post in it

RL: Son has a baseball game tonight, so He'll be wiping the floor with some 8 year olds later. Work, was okay, i managed to not get stung by a bee, which was good, since there were about 200+ flying all around me.

D2: randomly challenged sorc. Also got prepared for the MFO.

OVG: Just say no to OVG!

My noob questions thread

I have Skin of the Vipermagi armor with +31 all resists. I have a Rockstopper helm with +34% lightning resist. Character stats show lightning resist 35, poison resist 1.

I don't understand why the stats are so low.|||Are you wearing them?

Another item is lowering your resists? (there is atleast 1, Nightsmoke?)

NM/Hell difficulty?|||You receive negative resists penalty in NM and Hell -40 and -100 respectively. anya quest offsets that by +10 for each time you complete it.

So in NM for light you have +65 gear, +10 anya, -40 NM penalty = 35|||You are in NM difficulty. You have also saved Anya on Normal, so your base resists are -30 right now. Once you get to Hell (assuming you save Anya again in NM) your resists will be -80. If you save her again in Hell, they will be -70.

Edit: Ninja'd|||Quote:








You receive negative resists penalty in NM and Hell -40 and -100 respectively. anya quest offsets that by +10 for each time you complete it.

So in NM for light you have +65 gear, +10 anya, -40 NM penalty = 35




Yikes. Is it possible to get good resists in NM/Hell without loading up on charms?|||Of course...just look for gear with resistance bonuses. Sheilds are a great place to start. 3xPDiamond in a shield is good for +57 resistall, and is cheap...

WoRG|||Resistance charms are still good though. So long as you're not melee most of your charms will end up being skillers/life/res/mf |||Rare gloves, belts and boots can also spawn with fairly decent resists. You can also role a prismatic amulet (16-20 All resist) using a cube recipe (6 Perfect Gems (1 of each type) + 1 Amulet (Magic) = Prismatic Amulet)|||Look for some shimmering charms with +all resist on them. Its a trick trying to keep good resists while having other bonuses like plus skills and FCR on your gear. Wait until you get to Hell, resists are even harder to keep high. I am still using the Rockstopper in Hell as well as the Vampire Magi.|||Unfortunately, finding shimmering charms is almost impossible before you're in Hell and even then the odds aren't great. IMO, you should keep any small charm with 7% resist to an element. I think 11% is the highest you can find, but anything higher than 7% is usually worth the space in your inventory. My ATMA stash is full of them so I can slap them on my characters as soon as they reach the higher difficulties. Ideally, you'll eventually wanna work with shimmering small charms so you'll have more inventory space for skillers, but when you're starting out that's not realistic.

With items like Wizardspike and Stormshield, it's entirely possible to have maxed resists in Hell without any resist charms (my LK/Cows runner is maxed from gear alone, for example) but making charms a significant source for resists helps a ton.