The Mephathon is a new magic finding tournament extremely similar to the Pindlethon. The basic premise is that you must run Mephisto in Hell two thousand times. The person with the most interesting/rares drops wins. Along the way of course lots of good items will be found that will help out future characters. This is the main reason I joined, as I normally don't like magic finding, but if it is part of a competition then I'll do it.
This one was a bit rough as it fell right after the most recent Pindlethon. That's four thousand magic finding runs in a relatively short time span (for me). Obviously quite a few good items fell that give me some great ideas for future characters. Most notably is the M'avina's bow from this tournament and the helm and armor from the Pindlethon. Finishes the set for me so a Frost Maiden is in the works somewhere down the road.
Overall this Pindlethon was very productive, so here are the elite set/unique drops.
IK Stone Crusher--15
Dangoon's Teaching--13
Laying of Hands--11
Dark Adherent--8
Arioc's Needle--7
Wizardspike--7
Bonehew--4
Ethereal Edge--3
Windhammer--1
Gimmershred--1
Demon Limb--5
Jade Talon--3
Djinn Slayer--5
Bloodmoon--3
Natalya's Shadow--2
Credendum--8
Nord's Tenderizer--9
Razor's Edge-- 1
Ormus' Robes--2
Sandstorm Trek--1
Baranar's Star--4
Rune Master--1
Demon's Arch--1
Flamebellow--1
The Reaper's Toll--1
Harlequin Crest--1
Shadow Killer--4
Eschuta's Temper--1
Hellslayer--4
Lightsabre--3
Viperfork--2
Hellrack--1
Arachnid Mesh--2
Dracul's Grasp--2
The Gladiator's Bane--1
Marrowwalk--1
Stormshield--4
Stoneraven--4
Nosferatu's Coil--2
Spike Thorn--4
Steel Shade--5
Soul Drainer--2
Wolfhowl--1
Andariel's Visage--1
Verdungo's Hearty Cord--2
The Redeemer--1
Boneshade--1
Sazabi's Ghost Liberator--1
Naj's Light Plate--1
Firelizard's Talons--1
Eaglehorn--1
Warshrike--1
M'avina's Caster--1
Rings/amulets were also included, so here were those finds.
Carrion Wind--1
Dwarf Star--7
Gheed's Fortune--5
Highlord's Wrath--1
Metalgrid--1
Nature's Peace--3
Rainbow Facet--4
Raven Frost--5
Saracen's Chance--1
Telling of Beads--2
Wisp Projector--2
Overall I had fun competing, even if I was completely outclassed (again). Now I'm done magic finding for quite a while, I even had to skip the MFO (magic find olympics) that started a few days ago due to MF burnout.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Friday, January 4, 2008
OL Games: Travian
Travian is an online real-time browser game set in ancient Roman times. The basic premise of the game is that each player chooses one of three races and begins with a single village. From there each player must improve their village, expand to new ones, go to war with their neighbors and conquer them. It's a war game, pure and simple as anyone attempting to "simcity" their way through the game will quickly be turned into a resource farm for everyone else.
There are multiple servers for dozens of countries, so I joined the US speed server where everything happens three times faster than the normal servers. I severely doubt I'd play a normal server, as waiting a full day to build a single field is simply a bit too slow for me. I ended up joining with a few people from the Diabloii.net forums, simply to test out the game. The server we were on had been running for about three months up to that point, so we were at quite a disadvantage.
Thankfully I ended up on the fringe of civilization so for the most part and was left alone to discover how the game worked. I was able to build up my first village, found a new one and conquer a pair of oasis squares. Along with this I build a decent sized army, practices raiding several inactive players and even destroyed three of them. All in all the game was fun, but I definitely shouldn't play more than one server at a time or I won't get any work done. I do have to be careful with this game, it is very similar to Archmage and Space: Glory Thru Conquest of which I became very addicted to. Thankfully we can assign sitters to watch over the account while I am away doing things in real life, so I can actually have a life.
Now that the US speed server ended earlier this week our group has moved to the COM speed server which has been running for only a single month. This means we won't be at quite as much of a disadvantage and we can take everything we learned in the US server with us. Should be interesting the second time around.
There are multiple servers for dozens of countries, so I joined the US speed server where everything happens three times faster than the normal servers. I severely doubt I'd play a normal server, as waiting a full day to build a single field is simply a bit too slow for me. I ended up joining with a few people from the Diabloii.net forums, simply to test out the game. The server we were on had been running for about three months up to that point, so we were at quite a disadvantage.
Thankfully I ended up on the fringe of civilization so for the most part and was left alone to discover how the game worked. I was able to build up my first village, found a new one and conquer a pair of oasis squares. Along with this I build a decent sized army, practices raiding several inactive players and even destroyed three of them. All in all the game was fun, but I definitely shouldn't play more than one server at a time or I won't get any work done. I do have to be careful with this game, it is very similar to Archmage and Space: Glory Thru Conquest of which I became very addicted to. Thankfully we can assign sitters to watch over the account while I am away doing things in real life, so I can actually have a life.Now that the US speed server ended earlier this week our group has moved to the COM speed server which has been running for only a single month. This means we won't be at quite as much of a disadvantage and we can take everything we learned in the US server with us. Should be interesting the second time around.
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Diablo II: Martial Arts Assassin Skill Layout
A martial arts assassin is a melee fighter who relies mostly on charge up skills and kicks to deal damage to their enemies. Along with these they have several utility skills that provide excellent crowd control of monster packs. The skill setup is as follows:
Tiger Strike - 1
Claw Mastery - 1
Dragon Talon - 1
Psychic Hammer - 1
Burst of Speed - 1
At level six Burst of Speed becomes available, which enables the assassin to move and attack at extremely fast speeds. This skill will be the key to this build, as it will allow charge-ups to be obtained in rapid succession and therefore damage dealt to monster packs released with minimal time in between. Only one hard point here is needed as plus skills from equipment will handle the rest of the needed leveling.
Fists of Fire - 1
Dragon Claw - 1
Tiger Strike - 3
Cobra Strike - 1
Weapon Block - 1
Cloak of Shadows - 1
At level twelve to major skills become available; Cobra Strike and Cloak of Shadows. Cobra Strike allows the character to leech mana and life from monsters at extremely high rates, keeping the bulbs full at all times. Cloak of Shadows is the assassin's main crowd control skill, and should be utilized whenever a pack of monsters is encountered. Only one point is desired in both of these skills, as plus skills from equipment will handle the rest of the leveling needs.
Tiger Strike - 5
Claws of Thunder - 1
Dragon Tail - 1
Fade - 1
Shadow Warrior - 1
At level eighteen Shadow Warrior becomes available, which makes an excellent tank. This will allow the character to attack monsters at the edge of the pack for charge-up purposes before unleashing damage into the heart of the monster's formation.
Tiger Strike - 10
Blades of Ice - 1
Dragon Flight - 1
Dragon Flight is used in special circumstances only to teleport the assassin across the field. Extremely handy to escape from trapped positions and provide some breather room to regroup.
Tiger Strike - 14
Phoenix Strike - 1
Shadow Master - 1
At level thirty the ultimate tank becomes available, Shadow Master. The Shadow Master has the ability to cast their own Crowd Control spells, such as Mind Blast and Cloak of Shadows, which makes survivability for the main character exponentially easier. There is also the down side however, Mind Blast will be cast on a monster the main character is attack fairly often and this can lead to some confusing battles.
Tiger Strike - 20
Phoenix Strike - 20
Dragon Tail - 20
At level sixty-eight all of the main skills are maximized and now a decision must be made, which synergy to Phoenix Strike to dump the remaining points into. Since Dragon Tail provides extra fire damage then Fists of Fire is not really a consideration. Either of the two remaining options (cold/lightning) are viable and helpful, however the decision for me was quite easy. I found it extremely difficult to see how many glowing charge-up balls were floating around the character. Either monsters, barrels, trees or spell effects blocked the view of these charge-up indicators, so whenever they were released it was virtually impossible to tell what element was going to be given. Since lightning is the second of three charge-ups it is harder to force this skill to be released as cold, which is the last charge-up. As a result I suggest Blades of Ice as the synergy to increase.
Blades of Ice - 20
At level eighty-three the character is complete. Not many pieces of equipment are requirements for this character, however items with plus skills are extremely helpful due to the scaling factor of the martial arts skills and the need to increase some of the utility skills that receive only one hard skill point. Along with this a high damage set of boots is needed to provide the bulk of the damage from Tiger Strike and Dragon Tail. Goreriders or Shadow Dancers are the best choices for this.
Tiger Strike - 1
Claw Mastery - 1
Dragon Talon - 1
Psychic Hammer - 1
Burst of Speed - 1
At level six Burst of Speed becomes available, which enables the assassin to move and attack at extremely fast speeds. This skill will be the key to this build, as it will allow charge-ups to be obtained in rapid succession and therefore damage dealt to monster packs released with minimal time in between. Only one hard point here is needed as plus skills from equipment will handle the rest of the needed leveling.
Fists of Fire - 1
Dragon Claw - 1
Tiger Strike - 3
Cobra Strike - 1
Weapon Block - 1
Cloak of Shadows - 1
At level twelve to major skills become available; Cobra Strike and Cloak of Shadows. Cobra Strike allows the character to leech mana and life from monsters at extremely high rates, keeping the bulbs full at all times. Cloak of Shadows is the assassin's main crowd control skill, and should be utilized whenever a pack of monsters is encountered. Only one point is desired in both of these skills, as plus skills from equipment will handle the rest of the leveling needs.
Tiger Strike - 5
Claws of Thunder - 1
Dragon Tail - 1
Fade - 1
Shadow Warrior - 1
At level eighteen Shadow Warrior becomes available, which makes an excellent tank. This will allow the character to attack monsters at the edge of the pack for charge-up purposes before unleashing damage into the heart of the monster's formation.
Tiger Strike - 10
Blades of Ice - 1
Dragon Flight - 1
Dragon Flight is used in special circumstances only to teleport the assassin across the field. Extremely handy to escape from trapped positions and provide some breather room to regroup.
Tiger Strike - 14
Phoenix Strike - 1
Shadow Master - 1
At level thirty the ultimate tank becomes available, Shadow Master. The Shadow Master has the ability to cast their own Crowd Control spells, such as Mind Blast and Cloak of Shadows, which makes survivability for the main character exponentially easier. There is also the down side however, Mind Blast will be cast on a monster the main character is attack fairly often and this can lead to some confusing battles.
Tiger Strike - 20
Phoenix Strike - 20
Dragon Tail - 20
At level sixty-eight all of the main skills are maximized and now a decision must be made, which synergy to Phoenix Strike to dump the remaining points into. Since Dragon Tail provides extra fire damage then Fists of Fire is not really a consideration. Either of the two remaining options (cold/lightning) are viable and helpful, however the decision for me was quite easy. I found it extremely difficult to see how many glowing charge-up balls were floating around the character. Either monsters, barrels, trees or spell effects blocked the view of these charge-up indicators, so whenever they were released it was virtually impossible to tell what element was going to be given. Since lightning is the second of three charge-ups it is harder to force this skill to be released as cold, which is the last charge-up. As a result I suggest Blades of Ice as the synergy to increase.
Blades of Ice - 20
At level eighty-three the character is complete. Not many pieces of equipment are requirements for this character, however items with plus skills are extremely helpful due to the scaling factor of the martial arts skills and the need to increase some of the utility skills that receive only one hard skill point. Along with this a high damage set of boots is needed to provide the bulk of the damage from Tiger Strike and Dragon Tail. Goreriders or Shadow Dancers are the best choices for this.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
Diablo II: Matriarch Nemesis
Nemesis is a recreation of a martial arts assassin I had started both on Battle.net and Single Player but never finished. On Bnet I quit and moved to SP, and on SP I restarted before I finished. As a result I've never even gotten an assassin into Hell, such an oversight had to be corrected.
As can be expected Normal was a bit difficulty to begin with, but once Tiger Strike was maximized the questing was fairly basic. Tactics weren't really required yet, even untwinkled. I did however have great difficulty once more skills became available. Up to this point I've always utilized the F* keys for my skills as normally I use no more than six skills overall. However for an assassin this simply wasn't possible. As a result I had to bind the A-S-D-F-Q-W-E-R-T keys, as I was finding myself getting more and more frustrated by the fact I couldn't select the needed skills quickly enough. Obviously this lead to some confusion for a while right after the switch trying to use potions, as my hand was in a different location. I can attribute a few Normal deaths to this issue.
Nightmare on the other hand, wasn't quite as easy as expected. A trip into the Blood Moor lead to a triple boss pack that killed off my poor barbarian mercenary and shadow master almost instantly and required lots of running around and trips back to town for potion restocks before they were eliminated. The mods weren't very dangerous, it was the cold damage the undead inflicted that was the problem. Being slowed simply didn't mesh with how Nemesis was intended to be played. So I muled on a pair of 20% faster attack speed gloves and a Ravenfrost ring to correct that issue.
Afterwards progress was fairly good. Charge-ups were used everywhere, no more normal attacks. The most dangerous monsters were either manaburn or undead, due to the inability to leech from them. Up until Act IV the normal packs were manageable, as were the act bosses. Duriel required some thawing potions as Nemesis still has zero, well now -30%, cold resistance. Duriel was also the only act boss to require a trip back to town to restock on health potions, both Andariel and Mephisto were easily dealt with due to the ability to leech from them.
Act IV lead to more problems due to the ramped up health/damage of the monster packs. Just stepping out of the staircase lead to a doom knight boss pack (extra fast, cursed) that killed Nemesis at least five times. They were accompanied by a few pit lords that took three sets of charge-up and release cycles to kill a single one. The weapon/boots Nemesis had were simply
lacking enough punch to deal with the monsters. So a few more items needed to be muled on; Gore Riders and a Bartuc's Cut-Throat. Afterwards Nemesis was able to deal with the monster packs, it still wasn't a breeze but manageable.
At arriving at the Chaos Sanctuary she realized something, Cloak of Shadows apparently doesn't affect Oblivion Knights, as they kept cursing her. This lead to several deaths to IM before the player settings were dropped to one for the rest of the level. The same held true in the WSK against the Oblivion knights that spawned there as well. Lovely. Ended up with a nasty roll for the 3rd level, Revivers coupled with a level simply full of Gloams. It was just plain silly, but being stubborn I refused to reroll the map, and died several times as a result.
Finally Hell was reached, which means Nemesis can be twinkled up to her eyebrows, and she was: helm, armor, rings, amulet, belt and a second weapon to join the twinkled main weapon, boots and gloves already present. After that she simply ran, literally, through Hell. With all of the bonus skill points given by equipment Nemesis had Burst of Speed up to a very respectable level, too much actually. Took quite a bit of getting used to how fast she could move.
One thing that did cause problems is the fact that more often than not I could not see how many light balls were circling her feet. This became a problem when using Phoenix Strike, I had no idea which elemental attack was going to be released. This lead to many of them being wasted due to being directed on immune monsters, but also to 17 skill points being unused at the end of the game. Since I couldn't control which element to release I didn't want to use the points in synergies when a need may arise for them later. No need arose however so I think I'll dump them all into Blades of Ice, since the last charge is a little easier to control even if Claws of Thunder was my first choice when planning the character.
Nemesis didn't encounter any terrible problems until the Chaos Sanctuary in Act IV, due to the Oblivion Knights and IM. Since Cloak of Shadows doesn't affect OKs she struggled greatly in this area and received her first death in Hell, then several more followed close behind. This was a signal for things to come in Act V, as in the Bloody Foothills Nemesis and her companions were greeted with hordes of ranged monsters. Cloak of Shadows was used liberally to allow Nemesis to clear out small packs at a time. Going was slow but steady until the Ancients.
The Ancients had a dangerous set of mods. Talic (Whirlwind) was extra fast and spectral hit enhanced while Korlic was extra fast and stone skin. Of course both of them zeroed in on Nemesis and completely ignored her companions. This resulted in several minutes of her running around (with BoS enabled) with both hot on her heels. Since they were just as fast splitting up the Ancients simply wasn't possible, so hit and fade tactics had to be used to eliminate Madawc first and then corner Talic and Korlic behind a pillar where they couldn't see Nemesis. At this point they engaged Alhizeer and the Shadow Master, mostly the Shadow Master. This was good as Nemesis had run out of purple and red potions by this point.
Eventually they fell, then the WSK gave an extremely challenging combination of monsters to test Nemesis' skill and courage. Level 1 was easy, level 2 had Souls and Snakes, level 3 had Oblivion Knights and level 4 was fulled with Souls, Hell Witches and Death Lords. The last level was virtually unfair, fighting cursed with Amplify damage constantly against multiple bosspacks and champion packs of Death Lords, who in my opinion are the most dangerous melee monsters in the game.
Needless to say many mercenary resurrections were required, but eventually Baal was engaged and defeated, even though he felt his clone needed to remain a constant companion. Nemesis used a little trick to deal her damage; she charged up on the festering appendages that Baal kept summoning then released their charges on Baal himself. Since she had issues hitting Baal this was the only way to drop the Lord of Destruction.
Stats:
Level 81
Strength - 94(161)
Dexterity - 86(116)
Vitality - 295(305)
Energy - 25(35)
Life - 1095(1267)
Mana - 145(184)
Lightning Resistance - 75
Fire Resistance - 75
Cold Resistance - 75
Poison Resistance - 75
Skills:
Tiger Strike - 20(29)
Phoenix Strike - 20(29)
Dragon Tail - 20(29)
Dragon Flight - 1(10)
Fade - 1(7)
Shadow Master - 1(7)
Equipment:
Weapon 1: Bartuc's Cut-Throat (Shael)
Weapon 2: Jade Talon (24% CR jewel)
Armor: Duriel's Shell
Boots: Gore Rider
Belt: +15 Strength, FR 25%, LR 25%, 24% FHR, PLR 25%
Gloves: PR 25%, 20% IAS, +2 Martial Art skills
Helm: +18 Resist All, 6% Mana steal, +2 Assassin skills
Ring 1: +7 Strength, +22 Mana, LR 28%
Ring 2: Nature's Peace
Amulet: The Mahim-Oak Curio
Mercenary (Holy Freeze Desert Warrior):
Helm: Tal Rasha's Crest
Armor: Shaftstop
Weapon: The Reaper's Toll
Hellforge
NM: Um
Hell: Hel
As can be expected Normal was a bit difficulty to begin with, but once Tiger Strike was maximized the questing was fairly basic. Tactics weren't really required yet, even untwinkled. I did however have great difficulty once more skills became available. Up to this point I've always utilized the F* keys for my skills as normally I use no more than six skills overall. However for an assassin this simply wasn't possible. As a result I had to bind the A-S-D-F-Q-W-E-R-T keys, as I was finding myself getting more and more frustrated by the fact I couldn't select the needed skills quickly enough. Obviously this lead to some confusion for a while right after the switch trying to use potions, as my hand was in a different location. I can attribute a few Normal deaths to this issue.
Nightmare on the other hand, wasn't quite as easy as expected. A trip into the Blood Moor lead to a triple boss pack that killed off my poor barbarian mercenary and shadow master almost instantly and required lots of running around and trips back to town for potion restocks before they were eliminated. The mods weren't very dangerous, it was the cold damage the undead inflicted that was the problem. Being slowed simply didn't mesh with how Nemesis was intended to be played. So I muled on a pair of 20% faster attack speed gloves and a Ravenfrost ring to correct that issue.Afterwards progress was fairly good. Charge-ups were used everywhere, no more normal attacks. The most dangerous monsters were either manaburn or undead, due to the inability to leech from them. Up until Act IV the normal packs were manageable, as were the act bosses. Duriel required some thawing potions as Nemesis still has zero, well now -30%, cold resistance. Duriel was also the only act boss to require a trip back to town to restock on health potions, both Andariel and Mephisto were easily dealt with due to the ability to leech from them.
Act IV lead to more problems due to the ramped up health/damage of the monster packs. Just stepping out of the staircase lead to a doom knight boss pack (extra fast, cursed) that killed Nemesis at least five times. They were accompanied by a few pit lords that took three sets of charge-up and release cycles to kill a single one. The weapon/boots Nemesis had were simply
lacking enough punch to deal with the monsters. So a few more items needed to be muled on; Gore Riders and a Bartuc's Cut-Throat. Afterwards Nemesis was able to deal with the monster packs, it still wasn't a breeze but manageable.
At arriving at the Chaos Sanctuary she realized something, Cloak of Shadows apparently doesn't affect Oblivion Knights, as they kept cursing her. This lead to several deaths to IM before the player settings were dropped to one for the rest of the level. The same held true in the WSK against the Oblivion knights that spawned there as well. Lovely. Ended up with a nasty roll for the 3rd level, Revivers coupled with a level simply full of Gloams. It was just plain silly, but being stubborn I refused to reroll the map, and died several times as a result.
Finally Hell was reached, which means Nemesis can be twinkled up to her eyebrows, and she was: helm, armor, rings, amulet, belt and a second weapon to join the twinkled main weapon, boots and gloves already present. After that she simply ran, literally, through Hell. With all of the bonus skill points given by equipment Nemesis had Burst of Speed up to a very respectable level, too much actually. Took quite a bit of getting used to how fast she could move.
One thing that did cause problems is the fact that more often than not I could not see how many light balls were circling her feet. This became a problem when using Phoenix Strike, I had no idea which elemental attack was going to be released. This lead to many of them being wasted due to being directed on immune monsters, but also to 17 skill points being unused at the end of the game. Since I couldn't control which element to release I didn't want to use the points in synergies when a need may arise for them later. No need arose however so I think I'll dump them all into Blades of Ice, since the last charge is a little easier to control even if Claws of Thunder was my first choice when planning the character.
Nemesis didn't encounter any terrible problems until the Chaos Sanctuary in Act IV, due to the Oblivion Knights and IM. Since Cloak of Shadows doesn't affect OKs she struggled greatly in this area and received her first death in Hell, then several more followed close behind. This was a signal for things to come in Act V, as in the Bloody Foothills Nemesis and her companions were greeted with hordes of ranged monsters. Cloak of Shadows was used liberally to allow Nemesis to clear out small packs at a time. Going was slow but steady until the Ancients.The Ancients had a dangerous set of mods. Talic (Whirlwind) was extra fast and spectral hit enhanced while Korlic was extra fast and stone skin. Of course both of them zeroed in on Nemesis and completely ignored her companions. This resulted in several minutes of her running around (with BoS enabled) with both hot on her heels. Since they were just as fast splitting up the Ancients simply wasn't possible, so hit and fade tactics had to be used to eliminate Madawc first and then corner Talic and Korlic behind a pillar where they couldn't see Nemesis. At this point they engaged Alhizeer and the Shadow Master, mostly the Shadow Master. This was good as Nemesis had run out of purple and red potions by this point.
Eventually they fell, then the WSK gave an extremely challenging combination of monsters to test Nemesis' skill and courage. Level 1 was easy, level 2 had Souls and Snakes, level 3 had Oblivion Knights and level 4 was fulled with Souls, Hell Witches and Death Lords. The last level was virtually unfair, fighting cursed with Amplify damage constantly against multiple bosspacks and champion packs of Death Lords, who in my opinion are the most dangerous melee monsters in the game.
Needless to say many mercenary resurrections were required, but eventually Baal was engaged and defeated, even though he felt his clone needed to remain a constant companion. Nemesis used a little trick to deal her damage; she charged up on the festering appendages that Baal kept summoning then released their charges on Baal himself. Since she had issues hitting Baal this was the only way to drop the Lord of Destruction.
Stats:
Level 81
Strength - 94(161)
Dexterity - 86(116)
Vitality - 295(305)
Energy - 25(35)
Life - 1095(1267)
Mana - 145(184)
Lightning Resistance - 75
Fire Resistance - 75
Cold Resistance - 75
Poison Resistance - 75
Skills:
Tiger Strike - 20(29)
Phoenix Strike - 20(29)
Dragon Tail - 20(29)
Dragon Flight - 1(10)
Fade - 1(7)
Shadow Master - 1(7)
Equipment:
Weapon 1: Bartuc's Cut-Throat (Shael)
Weapon 2: Jade Talon (24% CR jewel)
Armor: Duriel's Shell
Boots: Gore Rider
Belt: +15 Strength, FR 25%, LR 25%, 24% FHR, PLR 25%
Gloves: PR 25%, 20% IAS, +2 Martial Art skills
Helm: +18 Resist All, 6% Mana steal, +2 Assassin skills
Ring 1: +7 Strength, +22 Mana, LR 28%
Ring 2: Nature's Peace
Amulet: The Mahim-Oak Curio
Mercenary (Holy Freeze Desert Warrior):
Helm: Tal Rasha's Crest
Armor: Shaftstop
Weapon: The Reaper's Toll
Hellforge
NM: Um
Hell: Hel
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Diablo II: Pindlethon IV
A Pindlethon is an event run about once per year in the SPF. The basic idea is that each participant kills Pindleskin two thousand times during the month long event. Each elite unique and set item is considered a qualifier and those numbers are tracked. The participant with the best 5 items wins. Normally the top few players get to take an item or two from those below them, but that was left out of this Pindlethon. That was something I don't mind too much since I found several grailers that I didn't want to lose, and since I'm self found if my some miracle I won I wouldn't be taking items from anyone.
Here's the loot I collected during my runs.
#5
Spirit Ward
Ward
Defense: 446
Chance to Block: 69%
Smite Damage: 11 to 35
Durability: 67 of 100
Required Strength: 185
Required Level: 68
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xafc33759
+161% Enhanced Defense
+25% Increased Chance of Blocking
All Resistances +37
25% Faster Block Rate
+6 Cold Absorb
5% Chance to cast Level 8 Fade when struck
#4
M'avina's True Sight
Diadem
Defense: 210
Durability: 10 of 20
Required Level: 64
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x67d2e9e6
+25 to Mana
+150 Defense
Replenish Life +10
30% Increased Attack Speed
#3
M'avina's True Sight
Diadem
Defense: 207
Durability: 19 of 20
Required Level: 64
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x58423fc5
+25 to Mana
+150 Defense
Replenish Life +10
30% Increased Attack Speed
#2
Griswold's Valor
Corona
Defense: 270
Durability: 37 of 50
Required Strength: 104
Required Level: 69
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x31e1bfa3
+63% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +5
26% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -40%
+0 to Cold Absorb (Based on Character Level)
#1
The Cranium Basher
Thunder Maul
Two-Hand Damage: 130 to 624
Required Strength: 253
Required Level: 87
Mace Class - Normal Attack Speed
Indestructible
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x2062bd2d
+25 to Strength
+236% Enhanced Damage
+20 to Minimum Damage
+20 to Maximum Damage
All Resistances +25
20% Increased Attack Speed
150% Damage to Undead
75% Chance of Crushing Blow
Indestructible
4% Chance to cast Level 1 Amplify Damage on striking
The rest of the finds:
Bloodmoon x2
Bonehew
Boneshade
Cranebeak
Demon Limb x2
Eschuta's Temper
Ethereal Edge
Gimmershred
Hellslayer
IK Stone Crusher
Lightsabre
M'avina's Embrace
Naj's Puzzler
Ondal's Almighty
Ormus' Robes
Rainbow Facet (3/3 lightning)
Trang-Oul's Guise
Wraith Flight
Best runes: Amn - Shael - Hel
It was a fairly bad showing on my part, as I didn't receive a single vote. A lot of that had to do with the fact I ended up with the second least amount of items of anyone who completed their run set. Runs took about forty-five seconds apiece, which is a bit long for such runs but I like to pick up many rare items looking for endgame gear so lots of extra time is taken identifying and selling items. However I did find several items I've never seen before, most notably M'avina's True Sight which gets me one item closer to finishing the set as well as providing solid equipment for my planned bowazons.
Here's the loot I collected during my runs.
#5
Spirit Ward
Ward
Defense: 446
Chance to Block: 69%
Smite Damage: 11 to 35
Durability: 67 of 100
Required Strength: 185
Required Level: 68
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0xafc33759
+161% Enhanced Defense
+25% Increased Chance of Blocking
All Resistances +37
25% Faster Block Rate
+6 Cold Absorb
5% Chance to cast Level 8 Fade when struck
#4
M'avina's True Sight
Diadem
Defense: 210
Durability: 10 of 20
Required Level: 64
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x67d2e9e6
+25 to Mana
+150 Defense
Replenish Life +10
30% Increased Attack Speed
#3
M'avina's True Sight
Diadem
Defense: 207
Durability: 19 of 20
Required Level: 64
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x58423fc5
+25 to Mana
+150 Defense
Replenish Life +10
30% Increased Attack Speed
#2
Griswold's Valor
Corona
Defense: 270
Durability: 37 of 50
Required Strength: 104
Required Level: 69
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x31e1bfa3
+63% Enhanced Defense
All Resistances +5
26% Better Chance of Getting Magic Items
Requirements -40%
+0 to Cold Absorb (Based on Character Level)
#1
The Cranium Basher
Thunder Maul
Two-Hand Damage: 130 to 624
Required Strength: 253
Required Level: 87
Mace Class - Normal Attack Speed
Indestructible
Item Version: 1.10 Expansion
Item Level: 86
Fingerprint: 0x2062bd2d
+25 to Strength
+236% Enhanced Damage
+20 to Minimum Damage
+20 to Maximum Damage
All Resistances +25
20% Increased Attack Speed
150% Damage to Undead
75% Chance of Crushing Blow
Indestructible
4% Chance to cast Level 1 Amplify Damage on striking
The rest of the finds:
Bloodmoon x2
Bonehew
Boneshade
Cranebeak
Demon Limb x2
Eschuta's Temper
Ethereal Edge
Gimmershred
Hellslayer
IK Stone Crusher
Lightsabre
M'avina's Embrace
Naj's Puzzler
Ondal's Almighty
Ormus' Robes
Rainbow Facet (3/3 lightning)
Trang-Oul's Guise
Wraith Flight
Best runes: Amn - Shael - Hel
It was a fairly bad showing on my part, as I didn't receive a single vote. A lot of that had to do with the fact I ended up with the second least amount of items of anyone who completed their run set. Runs took about forty-five seconds apiece, which is a bit long for such runs but I like to pick up many rare items looking for endgame gear so lots of extra time is taken identifying and selling items. However I did find several items I've never seen before, most notably M'avina's True Sight which gets me one item closer to finishing the set as well as providing solid equipment for my planned bowazons.
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Java: DII Character Simulator Update #4
The rest of the groundwork for the application was completed with the addition of listeners to each and every JButton, JComboBox and JCheckBox. The equipment tabs were fairly simply due to how similar they are, the code was written for one and then copied to each other class file with only minor adjustments required. These listeners don't do anything yet as the methods that govern the program aren't written, but that is all that is required code-wise for this section.
As for the final stats tab, more than just listeners were added. Along with finishing up any needed listeners the entire page was reworked, specifically the skill display panel was removed. I decided that it was going to be a duplication of work as that same information would be available in the skill calculator tab, so doing it twice was unnecessary. Also, the layout of the final stats panel was a bit crowded, and this freed up the needed space.
Some functionality was added to the buttons and fields of this tab as well. Specifically:
Stat Points panel
Button panel
Mods of Note panel
Damage/AR panel
In order to track changes to mods, life, mana and resistances a trio of arrays were created that would hold any additions to these values.
static int[] resistance = {0, 0, 0, 0};
static int[] stats = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0};
static int[] modsOfNote = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0};
These arrays will be present in each equipment class as well as the final stat class. When an action is taken that could possibly add to any of these values, whether it be adding a vitality point to a piece of equipment, the values of these arrays are summed and the result displayed in the appropriate JTextField.
The only fields that aren't attached to any methods or listeners at this time are the Damage/AR and Misc Mods panels. I'm going to wait until the rest of the program is in place before getting these panels working. This means the next step is to finish the Skill Calculator tab by locating the necessary equations for calculating the skill values and implement a way to view skill bonuses in that tab.
As for the final stats tab, more than just listeners were added. Along with finishing up any needed listeners the entire page was reworked, specifically the skill display panel was removed. I decided that it was going to be a duplication of work as that same information would be available in the skill calculator tab, so doing it twice was unnecessary. Also, the layout of the final stats panel was a bit crowded, and this freed up the needed space.
Some functionality was added to the buttons and fields of this tab as well. Specifically:
Stat Points panel
- Plus button has check to ensure points can't be added if no points available
- Minus button has check to ensure points can't be removed if the base value is displayed
- Points to Vitality increase the displayed life value
- Points to Energy increase the displayed mana value
Button panel
- Character name changed depending on which character type selected in the skills tab
- Change in Difficulty Finished JComboBox increases the stat points remaining and resistance values
- Change in character level JComboBox changes remaining stat point value as well as mana/life values
Mods of Note panel
- The Blocking field was moved to this panel from the Damage/AR panel
Damage/AR panel
- Blocking was removed
- Attack rating and Damage fields for Undead and Demon were added
In order to track changes to mods, life, mana and resistances a trio of arrays were created that would hold any additions to these values.
static int[] resistance = {0, 0, 0, 0};
static int[] stats = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0};
static int[] modsOfNote = {0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0};
These arrays will be present in each equipment class as well as the final stat class. When an action is taken that could possibly add to any of these values, whether it be adding a vitality point to a piece of equipment, the values of these arrays are summed and the result displayed in the appropriate JTextField.
The only fields that aren't attached to any methods or listeners at this time are the Damage/AR and Misc Mods panels. I'm going to wait until the rest of the program is in place before getting these panels working. This means the next step is to finish the Skill Calculator tab by locating the necessary equations for calculating the skill values and implement a way to view skill bonuses in that tab.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Diablo II: Necromancer Summoner Skill Layout
Also known as the Fishymancer, a Necromancer that uses summons to fight is a typical build in Diablo II. There are many variations of such builds; relying on just skeletons, golems or revives. Personally I want as many meat shields as possible for the character, so a combination of all three is used. The skill setup is as follows.
Raise Skeleton - 20
Skeleton Mastery - 20
Raise Skeletal Mage - 20
Corpse Explosion - 20
Summon Resist - 1
Decrepify - 1
Revive - 1
Attract - 1
As well as a single point in all of the prerequisites. I like to provide a breakdown of when each skill point is allocated.
Raise Skeleton - 2
Amplify Damage - 1
Skeleton Mastery - 1
Clay Golem - 1
At level 6 the character will have three skeleton warriors (1 due to starting wand) and a clay golem to deal the necessary damage. This isn't enough to progress quickly, so the character will be engaging in melee combat for the beginning portion of Act I. Monsters are first cursed with Amplify Damage and then engaged in combat.
Raise Skeleton - 7
Golem Mastery - 1
Raise Skeletal Mage - 1
At level twelve the character has four skeleton warriors, one clay golem and a skeleton mage for company, along with the mercenary. The character will still need to engage in melee combat, but the burden of engaging mobs is no longer present.
Raise Skeleton - 9
Skeleton Mastery - 5
At level 18 the character is ready to take on Andariel, with an additional skeleton warrior. The points in Skeleton Mastery will make the summons strong enough to withstand a few hits by Andariel so they don't crumble instantly. Luckily there are always several carver packs right near her, so resummoning any defeated minions is simple.
Raise Skeleton - 12
Weaken - 1
Terror - 1
Summon Resist - 1
Decrepify - 1
At level 24 Decrepify becomes available, which will be used against all act bosses from here to the end of questing. Decrepify, along with a clay golem, will slow the boss down to such a point where they are dealing very little damage to the summons. An extra skeleton warrior is also obtained, giving a total of 9 companions for the character. At this point the character doesn't need to engage in melee combat and can instead sit back cursing monsters and picking up items while the summons do the dirty work. Duriel should be extremely easy to overcome.
Raise Skeleton - 20
Skeletal Mastery - 20
The next objective is to maximize Raise Skeleton to have as many minions as possible. To that end equipment with +summon skills mods are highly sought after. Shopping for wands is advised, as is using the imbune quest reward from Act I on a necromancer head (shield). By the end of the first difficulty level the character has reached level 45 and has at least nine skeleton warriors, one skeletal mage, one clay golem and a mercenary at their disposal.
Bone Armor - 1
Blood Golem - 1
Iron Golem - 1
Revive - 1
Dim Vision - 1
Confuse - 1
Attract - 1
Teeth - 1
Corpse Explosion - 1
Up to level 52 the utility skills are obtained, each will only receive a single point overall and allow plus skill mods on equipment to provide any additional bonuses, except Corpse Explosion of course. However Corpse Explosion will not receive any additional points quite yet. Normally Normal and Nightmare are run at 'players 8', so CE has limited effectiveness due to it's damage not scaling accordingly. Therefore it will only be used as a body disposal skill for reviving monsters.
Raise Skeletal Mage - 20
Next comes mages as minions. They are not anywhere as useful as skeleton warriors due to their lower Hit Points and damage output. However the character can have as many of them as warriors and they can easily act as extra meat shields to keep the monsters off of the player character. Along the way it is suggested (if RWM) to obtain an Insight polearm for the mercenary (Act II Might, NM). Revives are going to be used and they are very mana intensive and require constant recasting, so to avoid stockpiling mana potions the Insight will solve all mana issues immediately. It's only a suggestion however, Insight is not critical to the character's success, but it does make managing 10+ revives much easier.
Corpse Explosion - 20
At level 69 all summon skills are finished and work can now begin on Corpse Explosion, which should take until level 83 to maximize. It is assumed that in Hell the player will lower the settings to 'player 1 or 3', which will make CE an extremely effective mob killer and speed up the character's progress exponentially. Normally when entering Hell the character will have the ability to summon 11-12 warriors/mages, a clay golem and 8-10 revives, along with the always present mercenary. The player character shouldn't be injured very often. The monsters to watch out for are Black Souls (piercing lightning attack) and Slingers (piercing physical attack). Also reviving monsters should have their corpses exploded, otherwise it is very likely monsters will be revived behind the lines right next to the character.
No pieces of equipment are vital to the success of this character. A general rule is that +skill pieces are more desired over resistance providing equipment. With the amount of friendly minions in the game, any elemental attacks will be absorbed by them long before they reach the player character (except Black Soul lightning of course).
Raise Skeleton - 20
Skeleton Mastery - 20
Raise Skeletal Mage - 20
Corpse Explosion - 20
Summon Resist - 1
Decrepify - 1
Revive - 1
Attract - 1
As well as a single point in all of the prerequisites. I like to provide a breakdown of when each skill point is allocated.
Raise Skeleton - 2
Amplify Damage - 1
Skeleton Mastery - 1
Clay Golem - 1
At level 6 the character will have three skeleton warriors (1 due to starting wand) and a clay golem to deal the necessary damage. This isn't enough to progress quickly, so the character will be engaging in melee combat for the beginning portion of Act I. Monsters are first cursed with Amplify Damage and then engaged in combat.
Raise Skeleton - 7
Golem Mastery - 1
Raise Skeletal Mage - 1
At level twelve the character has four skeleton warriors, one clay golem and a skeleton mage for company, along with the mercenary. The character will still need to engage in melee combat, but the burden of engaging mobs is no longer present.
Raise Skeleton - 9
Skeleton Mastery - 5
At level 18 the character is ready to take on Andariel, with an additional skeleton warrior. The points in Skeleton Mastery will make the summons strong enough to withstand a few hits by Andariel so they don't crumble instantly. Luckily there are always several carver packs right near her, so resummoning any defeated minions is simple.
Raise Skeleton - 12
Weaken - 1
Terror - 1
Summon Resist - 1
Decrepify - 1
At level 24 Decrepify becomes available, which will be used against all act bosses from here to the end of questing. Decrepify, along with a clay golem, will slow the boss down to such a point where they are dealing very little damage to the summons. An extra skeleton warrior is also obtained, giving a total of 9 companions for the character. At this point the character doesn't need to engage in melee combat and can instead sit back cursing monsters and picking up items while the summons do the dirty work. Duriel should be extremely easy to overcome.
Raise Skeleton - 20
Skeletal Mastery - 20
The next objective is to maximize Raise Skeleton to have as many minions as possible. To that end equipment with +summon skills mods are highly sought after. Shopping for wands is advised, as is using the imbune quest reward from Act I on a necromancer head (shield). By the end of the first difficulty level the character has reached level 45 and has at least nine skeleton warriors, one skeletal mage, one clay golem and a mercenary at their disposal.
Bone Armor - 1
Blood Golem - 1
Iron Golem - 1
Revive - 1
Dim Vision - 1
Confuse - 1
Attract - 1
Teeth - 1
Corpse Explosion - 1
Up to level 52 the utility skills are obtained, each will only receive a single point overall and allow plus skill mods on equipment to provide any additional bonuses, except Corpse Explosion of course. However Corpse Explosion will not receive any additional points quite yet. Normally Normal and Nightmare are run at 'players 8', so CE has limited effectiveness due to it's damage not scaling accordingly. Therefore it will only be used as a body disposal skill for reviving monsters.
Raise Skeletal Mage - 20
Next comes mages as minions. They are not anywhere as useful as skeleton warriors due to their lower Hit Points and damage output. However the character can have as many of them as warriors and they can easily act as extra meat shields to keep the monsters off of the player character. Along the way it is suggested (if RWM) to obtain an Insight polearm for the mercenary (Act II Might, NM). Revives are going to be used and they are very mana intensive and require constant recasting, so to avoid stockpiling mana potions the Insight will solve all mana issues immediately. It's only a suggestion however, Insight is not critical to the character's success, but it does make managing 10+ revives much easier.
Corpse Explosion - 20
At level 69 all summon skills are finished and work can now begin on Corpse Explosion, which should take until level 83 to maximize. It is assumed that in Hell the player will lower the settings to 'player 1 or 3', which will make CE an extremely effective mob killer and speed up the character's progress exponentially. Normally when entering Hell the character will have the ability to summon 11-12 warriors/mages, a clay golem and 8-10 revives, along with the always present mercenary. The player character shouldn't be injured very often. The monsters to watch out for are Black Souls (piercing lightning attack) and Slingers (piercing physical attack). Also reviving monsters should have their corpses exploded, otherwise it is very likely monsters will be revived behind the lines right next to the character.
No pieces of equipment are vital to the success of this character. A general rule is that +skill pieces are more desired over resistance providing equipment. With the amount of friendly minions in the game, any elemental attacks will be absorbed by them long before they reach the player character (except Black Soul lightning of course).
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