Random Tournament 2024!

[little birdy]

It is a pretty solid roll, and has some early on good summons all around. I hit level 14 this morning and able to use anything with a +skill is great, I have a +1 Clay Golem wand, and since I can place one point into that because of Golem Mastery can have it on the swap and Gumpy still sticks around (Even better with skill shrine!)

I'm Teeth with 3 in Skeletal Magi and 1 in any pre-req I need thus far. I placed a fair amount of point into Energy so I have more mana as I'm chugging potions quite fast.

Just one point in Clay Golem is often enough, especially if you can put a few points into Golem Mastery. I found Gumby to be a huge help when I quested my SC Bone Necro. Enemies love to swarm that guy, then you just fire away with the Bone spells.

 

[little birdy]

Alrighty, back in the saddle.

Amazon fivefeetunder (she's got one foot in the grave!) has made to Act II at level 20. I rolled the Jav and Spear skill tree, and Maiden Spear for the class-specific weapon -- and I've played Javazons enough already -- so, after some thought, I decided to take a risk and play as a Spearzon. So far, it's not great..! But I'm getting by. Still waiting for the first Maiden Spear to drop so I can try imbuing one.

The plan is to use Fend as the main attack and Power Strike or Charged Strike as the backup for Physical Immunes. I'll also max Penetrate to help with AR. I don't see myself bothering with the bow skills (Fire / Immolation Arrow). Unless I luck into finding a Kuko Shakaku, then I might reconsider. I rolled Long Bow so it's a valid option for me.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SP? D2R? Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
--- ---- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               -----
No  Yes  Vang              RagerX               Pal     85       3       Guardian               45
No  Yes  Vang              Linda                Soc     84      98       Guardian               45
Yes Yes  Grisu             Aegea                Ama     60      23       NM Kurast Docks        24
Yes Yes  Kruemelmonschda   Erdbär               Dru     53     125       NM Lut Gholein         18
Yes Yes  sug_knight        DuckPond             Ama     38      92       NM Rogue Camp          15
Yes Yes  Vildecor          Steinar              Pal     28      34       Kurast Docks            6
Yes Yes  Jcakes            Diana                Ama     28     139       Kurast Docks            6
No  Yes  ranagrande        Arek                 Pal     20      70       Lut Gholein             3
No  Yes  little birdy      fivefeetunder        Ama     20     134       Lut Gholein             3
?   No   Miron             ?                    Nec     ?        6       ?                       ?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Departed                                                                 Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No  Yes  Sven F            Urs                  Dru     42      39       Forgotten Tower NM     15
No  No   SirName           RandoCarlissian      Sor     21      14       Duriel                  3
No  Yes  Vang              ShiftingFool         Dru     64      80       Glacial Trail NM       27
Yes Yes  skoolbus          Slaybraham           Bar     35     111       Diablo                  6
No  Yes  little birdy      idunno               Ass     81      22       River of Flame Hell    39
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Jcakes]

Normal is done. Diana is mostly playing as a Valk Amazon with some support from Plague Javelin. It does do decent damage, but it is slow and somewhat tedious. The build is very safe though, no NDEs to speak of. The combo of Valk + Decoy does help to group enemies for plague javelin. I switched from Elly to a Desert Mercenary in Act 5 for a bit more damage (savage crafted bill is quite nice).

I'm still using full MF gear and drops haven't been bad. Not much useable other than 2x gambled deaths gloves and a civerbs shield which I am using.

Baal Drop



Normal S/U stash


Skills:
8 Poison Javelin
1 Lightning Bolt
16 Plague Javelin

1 in all P/M skills
17 Valkyrie

Stats (in NM)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SP? D2R? Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
--- ---- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               -----
No  Yes  Vang              RagerX               Pal     85       3       Guardian               45
No  Yes  Vang              Linda                Soc     84      98       Guardian               45
Yes Yes  Grisu             Aegea                Ama     60      23       NM Kurast Docks        24
Yes Yes  Kruemelmonschda   Erdbär               Dru     53     125       NM Lut Gholein         18
Yes Yes  sug_knight        DuckPond             Ama     38      92       NM Rogue Camp          15
Yes Yes  Jcakes            Diana                Ama     48     143       NM Rogue Camp          15
Yes Yes  Vildecor          Steinar              Pal     28      34       Kurast Docks            6
No  Yes  ranagrande        Arek                 Pal     20      70       Lut Gholein             3
No  Yes  little birdy      fivefeetunder        Ama     20     134       Lut Gholein             3
?   No   Miron             ?                    Nec     ?        6       ?                       ?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Departed                                                                 Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No  Yes  Sven F            Urs                  Dru     42      39       Forgotten Tower NM     15
No  No   SirName           RandoCarlissian      Sor     21      14       Duriel                  3
No  Yes  Vang              ShiftingFool         Dru     64      80       Glacial Trail NM       27
Yes Yes  skoolbus          Slaybraham           Bar     35     111       Diablo                  6
No  Yes  little birdy      idunno               Ass     81      22       River of Flame Hell    39
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[little birdy]

My just finished Normal last night too.

I pulled the plug pretty quickly on the Spearzon experiment. I found Fend to be a bit clunky and it seemed like I was having a lot of close calls for Normal difficulty. I'm still curious about a Spearzon, but I think I'd rather learn the ins and outs of that build in SC first.

I re-spec'd to Poison/Plague Javelin, both skills now maxed, and it's been much more enjoyable. I've never used these skills before either, but it didn't take long for me to get the feel of how to play with Plague Javelin. I guess either Lightning Fury or Immolation Arrow will be my backup skill when I start seeing Poison Immunes. Depends on if I find a decent bow or not.

I've only had a couple of useful S/U drops in Normal: Nightsmoke unique Belt (courtesy of Diablo himself!), Cleglaw's Pincers Chain Gloves, and Tancred's Skull Bone Helm.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SP? D2R? Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
--- ---- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               -----
No  Yes  Vang              RagerX               Pal     85       3       Guardian               45
No  Yes  Vang              Linda                Soc     84      98       Guardian               45
Yes Yes  Grisu             Aegea                Ama     60      23       NM Kurast Docks        24
Yes Yes  Kruemelmonschda   Erdbär               Dru     53     125       NM Lut Gholein         18
Yes Yes  sug_knight        DuckPond             Ama     38      92       NM Rogue Camp          15
Yes Yes  Jcakes            Diana                Ama     48     143       NM Rogue Camp          15
No  Yes  little birdy      fivefeetunder        Ama     49     134       Normal TZs             15
Yes Yes  Vildecor          Steinar              Pal     28      34       Kurast Docks            6
No  Yes  ranagrande        Arek                 Pal     20      70       Lut Gholein             3
?   No   Miron             ?                    Nec     ?        6       ?                       ?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Departed                                                                 Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No  Yes  Sven F            Urs                  Dru     42      39       Forgotten Tower NM     15
No  No   SirName           RandoCarlissian      Sor     21      14       Duriel                  3
No  Yes  Vang              ShiftingFool         Dru     64      80       Glacial Trail NM       27
Yes Yes  skoolbus          Slaybraham           Bar     35     111       Diablo                  6
No  Yes  little birdy      idunno               Ass     81      22       River of Flame Hell    39
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Vildecor]

Life's been pretty hectic, with a long vacation and now extra university classes. I have finally managed to squeeze in some playtime and get Steinar through Act III.

Spoiler: Random (6) Paladin - Steinar

(8) Defensive Auras Skill Tab, (13) Thorns, (16) Holy Freeze, (24) Zeal, (27) Blessed Hammer
(7) Breast Plate, (9) Circlet, (6) Tower Shield, (2) Rondache
(2) Scimitar, (2) Grand Scepter

I didn't really take any notes on my questing, and I also don't have any screenshots, but I do remember I had a close call with Szark the Burning. I was just casually tanking him while amped and needed a couple of rejuvs to finish him off. Nothing else was really that dangerous, though Mephisto's slaps seemed more painful than usual. I've been dumping points in Dex to keep my blocking % equal to my shield's listed value. That combined with about 60 points in strength means my Vit is still just under 100.

I'm still using May's gear options and will continue to do so for now.

I totally forgot to screenshot Mephisto's drops, but they are the three S/U listed in the below spoiler for Durance 3. Congrats to @Vang for his second guardian. Condolences to @skoolbus and @little birdy for your losses. Good luck to all the newcomers and those plowing through again. I should be able to get back to regular updates now, unless I decide to take on extra overtime at work.

Spoiler: Act III Set/Unique Journal

Skewer of Krinitz - Spider Cavern
Arcana's Sign - Spider Cavern
Angelic Wings - Great Marsh
Berserker's Hatchet - Great Marsh
Cleglaw's Claw - Great Marsh
Cathan's Mesh - Flayer Jungle
Berserker's Hatchet - Flayer Jungle
Sigon's Guard - Upper Kurast
Cathan's Rule - Upper Kurast
Angelic Halo - Durance of Hate Level 2
Hsaru's Iron Heel - Durance of Hate Level 2
Steelclash - Durance of Hate Level 3
Civerb's Cudgel - Durance of Hate Level 3
Berserker's Hatchet - Durance of Hate Level 3

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SP? D2R? Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
--- ---- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               -----
No  Yes  Vang              RagerX               Pal     85       3       Guardian               45
No  Yes  Vang              Linda                Soc     84      98       Guardian               45
Yes Yes  Grisu             Aegea                Ama     60      23       NM Kurast Docks        24
Yes Yes  Kruemelmonschda   Erdbär               Dru     53     125       NM Lut Gholein         18
Yes Yes  sug_knight        DuckPond             Ama     38      92       NM Rogue Camp          15
Yes Yes  Jcakes            Diana                Ama     48     143       NM Rogue Camp          15
No  Yes  little birdy      fivefeetunder        Ama     49     134       Normal TZs             15
Yes Yes  Vildecor          Steinar              Pal     32      34       Pandemonium Fortress    9
No  Yes  ranagrande        Arek                 Pal     20      70       Lut Gholein             3
?   No   Miron             ?                    Nec     ?        6       ?                       ?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Departed                                                                 Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No  Yes  Sven F            Urs                  Dru     42      39       Forgotten Tower NM     15
No  No   SirName           RandoCarlissian      Sor     21      14       Duriel                  3
No  Yes  Vang              ShiftingFool         Dru     64      80       Glacial Trail NM       27
Yes Yes  skoolbus          Slaybraham           Bar     35     111       Diablo                  6
No  Yes  little birdy      idunno               Ass     81      22       River of Flame Hell    39
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Vildecor]

I was not successful at breaking up the pack, I didn't have a backup TP ready, and I couldn't run around them. Dumb mistakes, as is usual for all my HC deaths.

Could someone kindly roll me up another random character?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SP? D2R? Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
--- ---- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               -----
No  Yes  Vang              RagerX               Pal     85       3       Guardian               45
No  Yes  Vang              Linda                Soc     84      98       Guardian               45
Yes Yes  Grisu             Aegea                Ama     60      23       NM Kurast Docks        24
Yes Yes  Kruemelmonschda   Erdbär               Dru     53     125       NM Lut Gholein         18
Yes Yes  sug_knight        DuckPond             Ama     38      92       NM Rogue Camp          15
Yes Yes  Jcakes            Diana                Ama     48     143       NM Rogue Camp          15
No  Yes  little birdy      fivefeetunder        Ama     49     134       Normal TZs             15
Yes Yes  Vildecor          Steinar              Pal     32      34       Pandemonium Fortress    9
No  Yes  ranagrande        Arek                 Pal     20      70       Lut Gholein             3
?   No   Miron             ?                    Nec     ?        6       ?                       ?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Departed                                                                 Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No  Yes  little birdy      idunno               Ass     81      22       River of Flame Hell    39
No  Yes  Vang              ShiftingFool         Dru     64      80       Glacial Trail NM       27
No  Yes  Sven F            Urs                  Dru     42      39       Forgotten Tower NM     15
Yes Yes  Vildecor          Steinar              Pal     34      34       Infector of Souls       9
Yes Yes  skoolbus          Slaybraham           Bar     35     111       Diablo                  6
No  No   SirName           RandoCarlissian      Sor     21      14       Duriel                  3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[little birdy]

View attachment 90674

I was not successful at breaking up the pack, I didn't have a backup TP ready, and I couldn't run around them. Dumb mistakes, as is usual for all my HC deaths.

Could someone kindly roll me up another random character?

That's a bummer!

I've got you covered for a new character. You got (1) Amazon! I'll update this post in a couple minutes with the rest of the rolls.

edit: Here you go:

---
(1) Amazon
(30) Bow and Crossbow skills tree, (4) Impale, (7) Plague Javelin, (11) Inner Sight, (12) Critical Strike
(7) Crown, (12) Plate Mail, (3) Large Shield, (1-1) Stag Bow, (2) Hunter's Bow, (6) Pilum

June's item rolls:
Hard Leather Armor, Breast Plate, Splint Mail, Small Shield, Bone Helm
Long Battle Bow, Javelin, Flail, Bastard Sword
All Gloves, Chain Boots, Light Plated Boots, Belt
---

Not a bad selection of skills and items IMHO! Nice bit of luck rolling a bow for the class-specific weapon.

Good luck!

 

[little birdy]

I must say, I'm really happy with my decision to re-spec to Plague Javelin. I'm enjoying this skill a lot and progress has been very smooth.

Before I moved on from Normal to Nightmare, I did one hour in the Moo Moo Farm while it was Terrorized. I didn't even play the full hour. Probably about 45 minutes. In that time doing Terrorized Normal Cows on p8, I went from level 49 to 53! I was still gaining EXP at a pretty decent clip at the end too. Terror Zones in Normal and NM make it easy to power-level before making the jump to the next difficulty. It's really changing the way I approach questing a new character.

Acts I and II of NM saw quite a bit of lucky unique drops. I'm not seeing many set items, but wow these uniques are coming fast and furious.

Skin of the Vipermagi and Venom Grip came in quick succession in the Forgotten Tower. I can't use Vipermagi but my HC Sorceress will gladly take it! I decided to use the Venom Grip gloves. They seem to fit the Poison/Plague Javelin theme nicely.


The Countess set me up with a Shael, which turned into a 'Rhyme' Kite Shield. That's my source of Cannot Be Frozen for now. I have my fingers crossed for a Pul somewhere later on. I can get 33% Piercing Attack and CBF from a helm if I make 'Wisdom'. That would be a super nice addition for this character.

I also found a 4os Superior Partizan early on in Act I and made 'Insight' for the merc.

Jade Tan Do (Kris) and Treads of Cthon (Chain Boots) came from the Inner Cloister.

This was really nice: Silkweave and Peasant Crown from Beetleburst! Right now I'm rocking some MF boots, but the Silkweaves will almost certainly be the end-game boots.


Athena's Wrath in Palace Cellar. Not sure that I've ever found this one before.


Last but not least: Not a unique, but the first Grand Charm ID'd in Flayer Jungle was a Shadow Disciplines skiller. Nifty.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SP? D2R? Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
--- ---- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               -----
No  Yes  Vang              RagerX               Pal     85       3       Guardian               45
No  Yes  Vang              Linda                Soc     84      98       Guardian               45
Yes Yes  Grisu             Aegea                Ama     60      23       NM Kurast Docks        24
No  Yes  little birdy      fivefeetunder        Ama     59     134       NM Lower Kurast        21
Yes Yes  Kruemelmonschda   Erdbär               Dru     53     125       NM Lut Gholein         18
Yes Yes  sug_knight        DuckPond             Ama     38      92       NM Rogue Camp          15
Yes Yes  Jcakes            Diana                Ama     48     143       NM Rogue Camp          15
No  Yes  ranagrande        Arek                 Pal     20      70       Lut Gholein             3
?   No   Miron             ?                    Nec     ?        6       ?                       ?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Departed                                                                 Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No  Yes  little birdy      idunno               Ass     81      22       River of Flame Hell    39
No  Yes  Vang              ShiftingFool         Dru     64      80       Glacial Trail NM       27
No  Yes  Sven F            Urs                  Dru     42      39       Forgotten Tower NM     15
Yes Yes  Vildecor          Steinar              Pal     34      34       Infector of Souls       9
Yes Yes  skoolbus          Slaybraham           Bar     35     111       Diablo                  6
No  No   SirName           RandoCarlissian      Sor     21      14       Duriel                  3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

[Vang]

@Vildecor Infector of Souls pack is absolutely the scariest part of Act 4 IMO.

 

[Vang]

July's 2024 Roll:

(2) Leather Armor, (4) Studded Leather Armor, (14) Full Plate Mail
(9) Circlet, (5) Spiked Shield
(15) All Boots, (2) Heavy Leather Gloves, (5) Gauntlets, (2) Light Belt

(5) Crystal Sword, (19) War Scythe, (6) Long Battle Bow, (9) Throwing Spear


Circlet roll and Crystal sword will open up some options for many!

 

[little birdy]

I will seriously have to consider changing to July’s rolls! I’m out of town for Canada Day weekend and can’t play for a few days anyways. I’ll decide when I get back home.

 

[Jcakes]

July's 2024 Roll:

(2) Leather Armor, (4) Studded Leather Armor, (14) Full Plate Mail
(9) Circlet, (5) Spiked Shield
(15) All Boots, (2) Heavy Leather Gloves, (5) Gauntlets, (2) Light Belt

(5) Crystal Sword, (19) War Scythe, (6) Long Battle Bow, (9) Throwing Spear


Circlet roll and Crystal sword will open up some options for many!

As much as I want to change I don't think I can with my SP Amazon lol.

Still those rolls are so tasty that if it is ok I'd like a random Sorc rolled for when I either finish the Amazon or die

 

[Vang]

I've reached act 4 with Johnnie the necromancer. I did decide to switch to July's as circlet as an option was to hard pass up.

Act 2 I finished with a strange armor, really pathetic and I laughed a bit (I was able to use it till end of Act 2 before I switched gear)




Mephisto fell a few hours later. I decided upon reaching the middle of the act that my summons with meager points were not worth the meager investment and I would be better suited by going full bone spear/bone armor/decrepify.

Moving right along after running LK for a bit for some charms with resistance, but netted only a fire resist one.



Act 4 awaits!

 

[Vildecor]

@Jcakes - Here's your random sorceress:

(1) Cold Spells
(16) Chain Lightning (15) Lightning (30) Hydra (23) Inferno
(7) Crown (7) Breast Plate (5)(8) Gothic Shield
(3) Smoked Sphere (4) Battle Staff (15) Spiked Club

Spoiler: July 2024 Rolls

(2) Leather Armor, (4) Studded Leather Armor, (14) Full Plate Mail
(9) Circlet, (5) Spiked Shield
(15) All Boots, (2) Heavy Leather Gloves, (5) Gauntlets, (2) Light Belt

(5) Crystal Sword, (19) War Scythe, (6) Long Battle Bow, (9) Throwing Spear

Looking pretty good for a lightning + orb/blizz build.

 

[Vildecor]

Spoiler: Random (1) Amazon - Zerlina

(30) Bow and Crossbow skills tree, (4) Impale, (7) Plague Javelin, (11) Inner Sight, (12) Critical Strike
(7) Crown, (12) Plate Mail, (3) Large Shield, (1-1) Stag Bow, (2) Hunter's Bow, (6) Pilum

I was definitely excited to get started with my favorite class. I originally considered playing her as a Strafer with FA, but decided to go full Mageazon. My first S/U item showed up very early, from a minion of the first boss pack I encountered in the Cold Plains:

Which would have been great if: 1) I was playing a passivezon, and 2) it was from an allowed item type. I continued onwards, deciding to play normally instead of full clears this time. Once I hit level 12 and started using Explosive Arrow, things went much, much faster. I started adding points in Energy to help cover the mana costs. Soon enough, both Andariel and Duriel were dead:

In Act III, I began gambling Long Battle Bows to replace my 'Ral' Short War Bow. I managed to find a decent rare with mana leech, ED and fire resist, but it was soon replaced once I acquired more Ral runes and stuffed three of them into a Short War Bow. Ormus gave me a rather great ring this time around:

Everything was still smooth sailing and I took down Mephisto while managing to keep my merc alive:

Act IV was a bit of a slowdown with mobs having more life and some with good fire resist. Chaos Sanctuary went much better this time. I didn't get the hook layout for Infector, so it was easy to drag a few out at a time. Everything else died without much hassle and I finished Diablo:

The Bloody Foothills were a breeze, with everything melting under my Explosive Arrows. I found a 20% Nagelring before I dropped Shenk. I then spent some time leveling at Eldritch until I reached level 32.

During my play session, I managed to gamble a Vidala's Barb and Death's Hand, though I doubt I'll use either of them. I may end up switching to July's gear rolls, as it's hard to pass up the opportunity to use circlets.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SP? D2R? Forum Name        Character Name       Class   Level  Post #    Location               Score
--- ---- ----------        --------------       -----   -----  ------    --------               -----
No  Yes  Vang              RagerX               Pal     85       3       Guardian               45
No  Yes  Vang              Linda                Soc     84      98       Guardian               45
Yes Yes  Grisu             Aegea                Ama     60      23       NM Kurast Docks        24
No  Yes  little birdy      fivefeetunder        Ama     59     134       NM Lower Kurast        21
Yes Yes  Kruemelmonschda   Erdbär               Dru     53     125       NM Lut Gholein         21
Yes Yes  sug_knight        DuckPond             Ama     38      92       NM Rogue Camp          18
Yes Yes  Jcakes            Diana                Ama     48     143       NM Rogue Camp          18
No  Yes  Vildecor          Zerlina              Ama     32     147       Frigid Highlands       12
No  Yes  ranagrande        Arek                 Pal     20      70       Lut Gholein             3
?   No   Miron             ?                    Nec     ?        6       ?                       ?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Departed                                                                 Died against/in
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
No  Yes  little birdy      idunno               Ass     81      22       River of Flame Hell    39
No  Yes  Vang              ShiftingFool         Dru     64      80       Glacial Trail NM       27
No  Yes  Sven F            Urs                  Dru     42      39       Forgotten Tower NM     15
Yes Yes  Vildecor          Steinar              Pal     34      34       Infector of Souls       9
Yes Yes  skoolbus          Slaybraham           Bar     35     111       Diablo                  9
No  No   SirName           RandoCarlissian      Sor     21      14       Duriel                  3
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edit: Fixed some scores, mostly adding the +3 bonus to those who finished Normal difficulty playing single pass.