My burly Maulazon has been progressing through Act 1 Hell quite nicely, on the rare occasions I have time to play her! Mae gradually went about her business snapping bones, mostly p1 but occasionally p3. Her
Bonesnap Ogre Maul is a bit slow even with 40% off-weapon IAS, but she hits hard, and fairly reliably, over the valk and decoy's shoulder while boosted with the Fire Rogue's Inner Sight.
Even solo, Mae can tangle with just about anything, and frequently did while charging ahead to take out shamans. It was a lot of fun bludgeoning them, tensely fending off Fallen as the mob swarmed. Her ethereal
Twitchthroe held up better than expected, losing only 8 of 17 durability throughout the entire Act despite Mae's absorbing her share of damage when D/A/E failed.
As usual for Act 1, the underground areas posed the greatest threats. There were several multi-boss multi-aura packs in the caves, which vaporized the valk and decoy, but in each in instance, we had already cleared a sufficient amount of space to retreat and regroup.
Corpse disposal is Mae's Achilles' Heel, and Pit Level 2 was a perfect example. The introductory Fallen were not particularly dangerous, but, knowing the potential for danger, I didn't want to risk awakening anything horrific. Cold damage from my charms and the Rogue's
Endless Hail Bow eventually shattered their corpses after dozens of shaman resurrections. Sure enough, the remaining monsters posed quite a challenge, and I was grateful I didn't barge ahead impulsively.
Just as Mae completed her first Act as a Maulazon, Andariel dropped a game-changer!
Bonehew
Ogre Axe
Two Hand Damage: 108 - 568
Fingerprint: 0x9f6789b
Item Level: 75
Version: Expansion 1.10+
50% Chance to cast level 16 Bone Spear on striking
+30% Increased Attack Speed
288% Enhanced Damage
+6 to Maximum Damage
Prevent Monster Heal
Cold Resist +27%
Fire Resist +14%
Level 14 Corpse Explosion (5/30 Charges)
2 Sockets (2 used)
Socketed: Sapphire Jewel
Socketed: Garnet Jewel of Wrath
The striking thing about this find, was to automatically think about hiring an Act 2 merc. It took several minutes before I thought, "Wait a second, Mae can equip this thing?!"
It's just not a common thought for an Amazon. But that is what I love best about this tournament, the unconventional and downright bizarre, can become reality!
Sadly, Mae's brief career as a Maulazon is over. The Bonesnap is now kept on the switch, for the occasions I need Crushing Blow. Bonehew is simply a superior killer. Considering her new setup with an Ogre Axe and an Ogre Maul, I suppose she must now be considered an "Ogrezon".
Now, that is not a term I'd say to her face, but if the shoe fits...
I socketed the Bonehew with a couple decent green jewels. Average damage is equal to the Bonesnap, with the obvious advantage of faster swing speed. But the true game-changing attribute is the
CE charges! This totally transformed gameplay and we can tear through mobs in a fraction of the time. The charges are expensive, but I have no need for gold, so I sell a few high-value items now and then to re-charge it. Safety is another huge factor, no need for scrappy and sloppy battles against resurrectors. Case in point, Halls of the Dead. Level 1 opened into a colossal mob of unravellers (regulars, champs, and bosses) and ungodly swarms of skeletons by the dozen. Lacking corpse disposal and with a tiny box to fight from, would've been a serious challenge and very draining, perhaps a half hour or more of insanity. I have doubts I could've done it. But with CE, within seconds I turned the entrance into a bloodbath, and wiped out everything after a couple recharge trips.
Along with the weapon, I made some changes with gear and skills. I upgraded my belt from the worthless Infernal Sign (the only S/U belt I had found) to the relatively excellent
Nightsmoke (upgraded to a Mesh Belt.) It has more slots and some helpful attributes. I stashed Tancred's Amulet and equipped a newly-found
Telling of Beads. Again, the value is all relative, meager cold resist boost and +1 skills, far more helpful since I no longer get the MF from Tancred's. Also, I swapped out Manald Heal for an
Angelic Ring and the Twitchthroe for the
Angelic Armor. The reason for this was the ~1,000 AR set bonus, further boosted substantially by maxing Penetrate. AR is now comfortably high regardless if Inner Sight from the Rogue is active.
Nothing could stop us throughout the rest of Act 2. I even killed a FE boss unraveller "Star Wound" (the very same name and type of enemy that slayed my original S/U zon 17 years ago!
So far in Act 3, I have suffered 3 NDEs, barging ahead too quickly. Twice from Gloam lightning, and once from multi-pack Heirophant lightning. My lightning resistance is pathetic, below zero! After one volley I saw nothing but a sliver of red in the life bulb. A grim reminder of overconfidence. I will have to be more careful as there is much more of that to come. I safely cleared the first 2 temples. The Kurast sewers are next.
Conqueror Mae, Ogrezon, level 82, Act 3 Hell
F/C/L Resists 51/44/-4 <--- scary low lightning
Str 202, Dex 90, Vit 229, Energy 15
1061 life, 37% FHR, 20% off-weapon IAS, 40% FRW
Skills:
Inner Sight 2
Slow Missiles 2
Decoy 21
Valk 21
Dodge 7 (42%)
Avoid 7 (50%)
Evade 7 (42%)
Critical Strike 12 (59%)
Penetrate 21
Gear:
Bonehew Ogre Axe (average 1,050 damage [minus the Bone Spear] with additional 59% Critical Strike)
Bonesnap Ogre Maul (average 1,050 damage with additional 59% Critical Strike, and 40% CB)
Rockstopper Sallet
Angelic Mantle Ring Mail
Nightsmoke Mesh Belt
Sanders Taboo Heavy Gloves
Sanders Riprap Heavy Boots
Telling of Beads Amulet
Nagelring
Angelic Halo
Gwinni the Fire Rogue Merc
Endless Hail Double Bow (188%)
Isenhart's Horns
Toothrow Sharktooth Armor (40% OW)