- Jan 24, 2008
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Yep, that's right. No more of that 'would-be-UT99er' talk. It's official, Das-Omen is now a UT99er:
The moment of final victory came on Christmas, Monday, December 25th, 2023, at 3:58pm (local time) at where else? Baal:
(Next time I'll have to remember not to be standing behind a pillar when the big moment finally comes .)
Das-Omen is my first UT99er! ... and second 99er overall, following behind my semi-twinked 1.11b Hammerdin Helm-Hammerhand. But enough chit-chat! Let's get down to business:
Das-Omen
CLVL 99 Lightning Sorceress
She was created December 6th, 2021 (when D2R was about two and a half months old). The initial UT99er post can be found here. But for those not wanting to make the jump, this excerpt should give you the general idea:
In short, I was looking for a D2 purpose. And wow, did I find one!
I knew I enjoyed untwinked from my tournament characters. And I knew I enjoyed the journey to clvl 99 from my 1.11b Hammerdin. What I didn't know was how much more satisfying the two could be when combined! Semi-twinked, or twinked*, is how I've referred to my 1.11b Hammerdin. That was "twinked, but by a purpose built character doing mission specific runs." I found the setup to be quite satisfying ... but the whole asterisk thing bothered me ... and we don't really have an active place around here to post about twinked or twinked* characters journey to clvl 99. Going fully untwinked, and joining the group, turned out to be much more satisfying! Even though I didn't bother to post very many updates ...
Here's links to all of Das-Omen's UT99er Thread progress updates:
December 6th, 2021 - clvl 1
May 11th, 2022 - clvl 97
June 8th, 2022 - clvl 98
August 25th, 2022 - clvl 98.33
May 22, 2023 - clvl 98.5
September 17th, 2023 - clvl 98.7
November 28th, 2023 - clvl 98.9
When assessing progress, I suppose it would be important to know that Terror Zones were not used. They obviously didn't exist when the character was created in 2021, and therefore weren't part of the original goal that I set out to accomplish.
Also, sharp eyed readers might notice that the rate of progress sharply declines at clvl 98. That's not due to clvl 98 taking a long time to traverse without Terror Zones. That's due to tendonitis. First in my right arm. And then, both right and left arms . Yes, in the end, the greatest obstacle to completing this character wouldn't be lack of drops, or motivation, or time to play ... it would be my body falling apart at only 36 years old! The exact cause of the tendonitis is up for debate. Mostly I would tend to blame working at a grocery store stocking shelves through the pandemic. Work load went way up. Staff went down. Throw in an equipment failure that led to hauling eight foot tall pallets of groceries around the store for more than a month, by hand, solo, and with poorly maintained equipment ... and I think we're getting pretty close to nailing down the origin of the problem. Of course playing D2 in my downtime wasn't helping things either. I took a six month game break between clvl 98.33 and 98.5, and another one month break between 98.5 and 98.7. Finally after fifteen months, I decided that not doing the things that I wanted to do (D2) wasn't getting me anywhere ... I needed to stop doing my job. I tried to quit ... instead got promoted ... and have been making steady progress towards healing ever since! For most of leveling through clvl 98, play sessions were 30 minutes or less per day. In the last few weeks I've been able to bump up my playing time a bit more. Play sessions are still very short, but there can be more of them with breaks . So for good or bad, tendonitis and this character will forever be linked in my mind. Abandoning her would have been the easy, perhaps sensible thing to do. But I was haunted by the words: "I'm in. UT99 or bust! I can. I will. Watch me." In the end, my body busted, but I still got it done! UT99, I have arrived!
Now let's get back to the character.
Timeline:
(Mostly lifted from my clvl 97 post.)
Created: December 6, 2021
She then got exclusive play for the next seven weeks. So, let's break things down by the week. Actually, I already did, in the One, Two, Buckle my Shoe - Item Find Thread. (And again in my clvl 97 post.) But I'll recap the highlights and link here!
Week #1 - Quested through NM. Found a 35@ Vipermagi and SoJ #1 at NM Andariel.
Week #2 - Found SoJ #2 and Tal's Amulet at NM Andariel. Found a white Monarch and Cryptic Axe that both rolled four sockets in the Pit.
Week #3 - Hit clvl 88. Started LK. Found Vex, Ohm x2, Sur, and Ber.
Week #4 - More LK. Couldn't find that last Sur needed for Infinity. Did find Vex x2.
Week #5 - More LK. Found Ohm, Sur, Ber and racked an eth 4os Thresher. Made HoTO (38@), CTA (4 BO), and Infinity (280 ED). Started Mephisto. Found Skullder's.
Week #6 - More Mephisto. Found Harlequin Crest, Arachnid Mesh, SoJ #3, and Vamp Gaze (8% LL, 20% DR, 13 MDR <--Socketed w/Sol).
Week #7 - Turned SoJ #3 into an Anni (18/10@/7). Started Pindle. Found Tal's Armor and Griffon's Eye (-18/+13 <--Socketed w/-4/+5 L Facet).
At the end of Week #7 Das-Omen was at clvl 94, and I dropped the weekly updates because I'd already found everything that I wanted! I mean, finding a Griffon's Eye with an untwinked Lightning Sorceress at clvl 93! ... That drop still excites me! (... and continues to do so, nearly two years later!)
Das-Omen's next big adventure was getting a Torch. She went from clvl 94 to clvl 96 farming essences off bosses (to respec mid battle) and gathering keys. And then, Ubers! <-- described on February 9, 2022, in the One, Two, Buckle my Shoe - Item Find Thread. The short version is: Run minis as a Lightning Sorceress with lots of - Enemy Lightning Resistance (Griffon's, Crescent Moon). Kill Uber Baal and Diablo. Respec to a Meteor Sorceress with a Token of Absolution and kill Uber Mephisto. Next run, kill Uber Mephisto first, then respec back to a Lightning Sorceress and kill Uber Baal and Diablo. That was the most 'Lightning Sorceress' solution to Ubers that I could think up. And it worked! It took sixteen Uber runs, but Das-Omen got a nice Sorceress Torch (Reported here on February 12, 2022).
Then there was this long pause while I mostly played a couple of untwinked, HC, single pass characters.
The exception was the RFL. I played Das-Omen in Rounds #1, #2, and #3. Much to my great surprise, she won Round #2 with Cham, Jah, Ber, Lo, and Ist. Getting the win was fun, but more important was getting the runes. The Jah and Ber went into an Enigma, which completed her setup!
And then it was time for Baal. Baal. And more Baal. Mostly P1, Throne clear through Bartuc. P7, Ventar and Lister. P3, Baal. Unless I forgot to change the players setting ... in which case ... I hardly noticed the difference. Often I would think I was on P1 but would really be on P7. The character is just that powerful.
I could have run any of the big three xp targets (Diablo, Nihlathak, or Baal) with ease, but running Baal with this character was just so satisfying that I couldn't stop. I mean, I thought my 1.11b Hammerdin was good at Baal ... I was wrong. This Lightning Sorceress is good at Baal. Das-Omen melts foes in less than half the time of my 1.11b Hammerdin ... which amounts to sub three minute runs on average . And she's safer too ... you know, because everything just melts. And did I mention none of that funny aim the hammer business? Just point and click destruction with Lightning. Or better yet, use Chain Lightning and destoy stuff around corners, behind your back, and across rooms! Yes, I love this character. Though I suppose that's no surprise considering she did find the dream gear.
Gear:
I also uploaded her to the D2Planner at maxroll back at clvl 98.33 here should anyone be interested/prefer that format. Firefox has since decided that it doesn't trust that site ... so, if you choose, proceed with caution I suppose.
Das-Omen
Lightning Sorceress
Griffon's Eye, Diadem (-18/+13 <--Socketed w/-5/+5 L Facet)
Mara's Kaleidoscope, Amulet (29@)
Enigma, Dusk Shroud
Heart of the Oak, Flail (38@)
Spirit, Monarch (35 FCR, 105 Mana, 6 Magic Absorb)
The Stone of Jordan, Ring
The Stone of Jordan, Ring
Crafted, Demonhide Gloves (10 Fire Resist, 7 Lightning Resist, 25 MF, 18 Mana, Regenerate Mana 8%, +3 MPK)
Arachnid Mesh, Spiderweb Sash
War Traveler, Battle Boots (49 MF)
On Switch:
Call to Arms, Crystal Sword (6 BC, 5 BO)
Spirit, Monarch (35 FCR, 98 Mana, 7 Magic Absorb)
Inventory:
Annihilus, Small Charm (13/19@/8) <-- From SoJ #4, found at H Andariel during some random MFing.
Gheed's Fortune, Grand Charm (155% Gold, 36 MF, 15% Prices)
Hellfire Torch, Large Charm (Sorceress, 14/20@)
Lightning Skillers x3
Resistance, Life, Mana, FHR, Small Charms
Sixteen spaces left open for looting ... I love looting ...
Mercenary
Act II - Holy Freeze
Vampire Gaze, Grim Helm (8% LL, 20% DR, 13 MDR <--Socketed w/Sol)
Duress, Eth Balrog Skin (2009 Def, +15% ED)
Infinity, Eth Thresher (+280% ED)
As I said before, that's pretty much the dream gear. Before starting this character I'd only ever found one Griffon's Eye ... and that was long ago. I didn't expect to find another. I certainly didn't expect to find another at the most opportune moment. Clvl 93, with an untwinked Lightning Sorceress relatively just starting her journey! That's one of my top two drops ever. And so memorable in a way that can only come from being a part of a long term character project. (If you're wondering, the other drop that's in the running for 'best drop ever' was a Ber Rune that dropped at the start of my 1.11b Hammerdin's quest to obtain Enigma).
Once the Griffon's Eye dropped, my thinking on this character totally changed. There was no more 'maybe I'll get a Torch'. I was getting a Torch. And the best of anything else I wanted. Enigma, on a Sorceress. Why not!? Only the best is good enough. The only real disappointment on the gear (and it's a mild one), is with the charms. I thought it would have been easier to get Lightning skillers with modifiers ... or Lightning skillers in general. I only found/rolled three. I didn't want more ... because I really like looting ... but I would have preferred to have had the choice. And geez, the only modifier any of them had is +3 Strength (or you know, ~6 life). I had a bunch of Baal Grand Charms, and I kept rerolling them with all the gems I could pick up ... no luck. At least not on the Lightning Sorceress front.
Anyhow, what kind of numbers does all that gear get you?
Stats:
Life: 1369 (2385 with lvl 18 BO)
Mana: 755 (1105 with lvl 18 BO)
Strength: 42 (161)
Dexterity: 25 (69)
Vitality: 483 (547)
Energy: 35 (67)
Defense: 1842 <-- The best defense is a good offense!
Block: What's that?
FCR: 120% (8 Frames, 12 Frames Lightning/Chain Lightning)
FHR: 60% (8 Frames)
FRW: 70% <-- Zoom! Zoom!
MF: 216 <-- I opted for damage.
Physical Damage Received Reduced By 8%
Regenerate Mana 86%
+14 Life After Each Kill
+3 Mana After Each Kill <-- Surprisingly seemed to make a difference.
+15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Resistances (Hell):
Fire: 75 (+4 past 75 cap)
Cold: 75 (+1 past 75 cap)
Lightning: 75 (+8 past 75 cap)
Poison: 75 (+1 past 75 cap)
+6 Magic Absorb
+8% To Experience Gained <-- The D2R advantage.
+548% To Lightning Skill Damage
-23% To Enemy Lightning Resistance (plus Infinity on the merc)
Skills:
Standard Lightning Sorceress stuff. Here's what the LCS has to say about it:
Lightning - 20 (41) 6-35627 Lightning Damage
Chain Lightning - 20 (41) 6-13131 Lightning Damage, 13 Hits
Lightning Mastery - 20 (41) +530 To Lightning Skill Damage
Charged Bolt - 20 (41) 719-748 Lightning Damage, 24 Bolts
Nova - 20 (41) 2252-2925 Lightning Damage
Warmth - 5 (23) 294% Mana Recovery Rate
Teleport - 1 (23) 2 Mana Cost
Static Field - 1 (22) 17.3 Yard Radius
Telekinesis - 1 (22)
Frozen Armor - 1 (19)
Energy Shield - 1 (22) <-- Didn't use much, but it's available.
Battle Orders - (18) 190 Seconds
Battle Command (18) 200 Seconds
Finds:
It might be faster to list what she didn't find.
Das-Omen's personal grail stands at:
So, yes. She found every set item (even including the Cow King's, which was found during the 2022 RFL). She also found every rune. El through Zod.
That was my first, and so far, only Zod Rune. And a big reason for my coming back to D2 in 2020. Check another one off the bucket list!
High runes found, but not used, include:
Vex - x5
Ohm - x6
Lo - x3
Sur - x7
Ber - x2
Cham - x2
Zod - x1
I use that strange wording because I *might* have gifted some of her high rune finds to my twinked characters ... but that would have been a couple years ago ... and I just can't remember for sure at this point ...
Some other notable finds that I do clearly remember include: The Cranium Basher and Dragonscale (actually I found two of these). Both were HanShotFirst 1.10+ career grailers at the time. After Das-Omen, the 1.10+ career grail now stands at -2 with Astreon's and Tyrael's being the final holdouts. Das-Omen found Templar's Might x3 ... two coming in back to back runs ... but the hunt for Tyrael's continues ... I suppose that brings me to:
Future Plans:
I like this character. I like this character a lot. If there was a clvl 100, I'd be happy to go reach it. But there's not. So now she's sort of missionless I suppose. I'm not feeling it yet ... but I know how that feeling hit me when my 1.11b Hammerdin reached clvl 99. Now, Das-Omen is in a little bit better shape than Helm-Hammerhand. As she's a truly untwinked character, I could always go for the non-Terror Zone single character grail. She's got all the set items, all the runes, all the Torches ... just fourteen unique items left to go. But those fourteen items are rare. Very rare. The rate of perceived progress on that goal would be abysmal. But, she's just so much fun to play that it might just work ...
I've also got an endless list of other D2(R) projects that I'd like to tackle. Some rather small. Some rather large. And while this character pretty much managed to avoid all the D2R specific changes, I would at some point like to check them out. Terror Zones loom largest, and while undeniably the future, I don't think I'm ready just yet. When I got back into D2 in 2020, I had a few definite goals: Take a character to clvl 99 (check, and now UT99er check). Find a Zod Rune (check). Complete the HanShotFirst 1.10+ career grail (now down to -2 from -5). Since then, D2R has come along, which really didn't change rare item drop rates. And then, Terror Zones have come along, which would change rare item drop rates if used. So, much like with wanting to complete Das-Omen under the conditions in which I set out to complete them, so to would I like to complete the HanShotFirst 1.10+ career grail. Therefore, I'm thinking, it could be time for another non-Terror Zone using, would-be-UT99er ...
But for now, may I present to you, one last time:
Das-Omen
CLVL 99 Lightning Sorceress
The moment of final victory came on Christmas, Monday, December 25th, 2023, at 3:58pm (local time) at where else? Baal:
(Next time I'll have to remember not to be standing behind a pillar when the big moment finally comes .)
Das-Omen is my first UT99er! ... and second 99er overall, following behind my semi-twinked 1.11b Hammerdin Helm-Hammerhand. But enough chit-chat! Let's get down to business:
Das-Omen
CLVL 99 Lightning Sorceress
She was created December 6th, 2021 (when D2R was about two and a half months old). The initial UT99er post can be found here. But for those not wanting to make the jump, this excerpt should give you the general idea:
I've tried to ignore this thread, but can't seem to any longer ...
I'm in.
UT99 or bust!
I can. I will. Watch me.
Backstory:
I've been feeling a bit adrift in my D2 play this last week ... I did a clean restart with D2R with the goal of being able to run Torches. I created an Orb/TK Sorceress to get the basics. Then a Hammerdin to get the rest. And then last week, I finished the Zealot that could run the Ubers. Mission accomplished. And purpose in playing D2 lost ... Well great! All our enemies are dead! Now what are we supposed to do?
Time for a new mountain to summit! And I've decided it will be this one!
In short, I was looking for a D2 purpose. And wow, did I find one!
I knew I enjoyed untwinked from my tournament characters. And I knew I enjoyed the journey to clvl 99 from my 1.11b Hammerdin. What I didn't know was how much more satisfying the two could be when combined! Semi-twinked, or twinked*, is how I've referred to my 1.11b Hammerdin. That was "twinked, but by a purpose built character doing mission specific runs." I found the setup to be quite satisfying ... but the whole asterisk thing bothered me ... and we don't really have an active place around here to post about twinked or twinked* characters journey to clvl 99. Going fully untwinked, and joining the group, turned out to be much more satisfying! Even though I didn't bother to post very many updates ...
Here's links to all of Das-Omen's UT99er Thread progress updates:
December 6th, 2021 - clvl 1
May 11th, 2022 - clvl 97
June 8th, 2022 - clvl 98
August 25th, 2022 - clvl 98.33
May 22, 2023 - clvl 98.5
September 17th, 2023 - clvl 98.7
November 28th, 2023 - clvl 98.9
When assessing progress, I suppose it would be important to know that Terror Zones were not used. They obviously didn't exist when the character was created in 2021, and therefore weren't part of the original goal that I set out to accomplish.
Also, sharp eyed readers might notice that the rate of progress sharply declines at clvl 98. That's not due to clvl 98 taking a long time to traverse without Terror Zones. That's due to tendonitis. First in my right arm. And then, both right and left arms . Yes, in the end, the greatest obstacle to completing this character wouldn't be lack of drops, or motivation, or time to play ... it would be my body falling apart at only 36 years old! The exact cause of the tendonitis is up for debate. Mostly I would tend to blame working at a grocery store stocking shelves through the pandemic. Work load went way up. Staff went down. Throw in an equipment failure that led to hauling eight foot tall pallets of groceries around the store for more than a month, by hand, solo, and with poorly maintained equipment ... and I think we're getting pretty close to nailing down the origin of the problem. Of course playing D2 in my downtime wasn't helping things either. I took a six month game break between clvl 98.33 and 98.5, and another one month break between 98.5 and 98.7. Finally after fifteen months, I decided that not doing the things that I wanted to do (D2) wasn't getting me anywhere ... I needed to stop doing my job. I tried to quit ... instead got promoted ... and have been making steady progress towards healing ever since! For most of leveling through clvl 98, play sessions were 30 minutes or less per day. In the last few weeks I've been able to bump up my playing time a bit more. Play sessions are still very short, but there can be more of them with breaks . So for good or bad, tendonitis and this character will forever be linked in my mind. Abandoning her would have been the easy, perhaps sensible thing to do. But I was haunted by the words: "I'm in. UT99 or bust! I can. I will. Watch me." In the end, my body busted, but I still got it done! UT99, I have arrived!
Now let's get back to the character.
Timeline:
(Mostly lifted from my clvl 97 post.)
Created: December 6, 2021
She then got exclusive play for the next seven weeks. So, let's break things down by the week. Actually, I already did, in the One, Two, Buckle my Shoe - Item Find Thread. (And again in my clvl 97 post.) But I'll recap the highlights and link here!
Week #1 - Quested through NM. Found a 35@ Vipermagi and SoJ #1 at NM Andariel.
Week #2 - Found SoJ #2 and Tal's Amulet at NM Andariel. Found a white Monarch and Cryptic Axe that both rolled four sockets in the Pit.
Week #3 - Hit clvl 88. Started LK. Found Vex, Ohm x2, Sur, and Ber.
Week #4 - More LK. Couldn't find that last Sur needed for Infinity. Did find Vex x2.
Week #5 - More LK. Found Ohm, Sur, Ber and racked an eth 4os Thresher. Made HoTO (38@), CTA (4 BO), and Infinity (280 ED). Started Mephisto. Found Skullder's.
Week #6 - More Mephisto. Found Harlequin Crest, Arachnid Mesh, SoJ #3, and Vamp Gaze (8% LL, 20% DR, 13 MDR <--Socketed w/Sol).
Week #7 - Turned SoJ #3 into an Anni (18/10@/7). Started Pindle. Found Tal's Armor and Griffon's Eye (-18/+13 <--Socketed w/-4/+5 L Facet).
At the end of Week #7 Das-Omen was at clvl 94, and I dropped the weekly updates because I'd already found everything that I wanted! I mean, finding a Griffon's Eye with an untwinked Lightning Sorceress at clvl 93! ... That drop still excites me! (... and continues to do so, nearly two years later!)
Das-Omen's next big adventure was getting a Torch. She went from clvl 94 to clvl 96 farming essences off bosses (to respec mid battle) and gathering keys. And then, Ubers! <-- described on February 9, 2022, in the One, Two, Buckle my Shoe - Item Find Thread. The short version is: Run minis as a Lightning Sorceress with lots of - Enemy Lightning Resistance (Griffon's, Crescent Moon). Kill Uber Baal and Diablo. Respec to a Meteor Sorceress with a Token of Absolution and kill Uber Mephisto. Next run, kill Uber Mephisto first, then respec back to a Lightning Sorceress and kill Uber Baal and Diablo. That was the most 'Lightning Sorceress' solution to Ubers that I could think up. And it worked! It took sixteen Uber runs, but Das-Omen got a nice Sorceress Torch (Reported here on February 12, 2022).
Then there was this long pause while I mostly played a couple of untwinked, HC, single pass characters.
The exception was the RFL. I played Das-Omen in Rounds #1, #2, and #3. Much to my great surprise, she won Round #2 with Cham, Jah, Ber, Lo, and Ist. Getting the win was fun, but more important was getting the runes. The Jah and Ber went into an Enigma, which completed her setup!
And then it was time for Baal. Baal. And more Baal. Mostly P1, Throne clear through Bartuc. P7, Ventar and Lister. P3, Baal. Unless I forgot to change the players setting ... in which case ... I hardly noticed the difference. Often I would think I was on P1 but would really be on P7. The character is just that powerful.
I could have run any of the big three xp targets (Diablo, Nihlathak, or Baal) with ease, but running Baal with this character was just so satisfying that I couldn't stop. I mean, I thought my 1.11b Hammerdin was good at Baal ... I was wrong. This Lightning Sorceress is good at Baal. Das-Omen melts foes in less than half the time of my 1.11b Hammerdin ... which amounts to sub three minute runs on average . And she's safer too ... you know, because everything just melts. And did I mention none of that funny aim the hammer business? Just point and click destruction with Lightning. Or better yet, use Chain Lightning and destoy stuff around corners, behind your back, and across rooms! Yes, I love this character. Though I suppose that's no surprise considering she did find the dream gear.
Gear:
I also uploaded her to the D2Planner at maxroll back at clvl 98.33 here should anyone be interested/prefer that format. Firefox has since decided that it doesn't trust that site ... so, if you choose, proceed with caution I suppose.
Das-Omen
Lightning Sorceress
Griffon's Eye, Diadem (-18/+13 <--Socketed w/-5/+5 L Facet)
Mara's Kaleidoscope, Amulet (29@)
Enigma, Dusk Shroud
Heart of the Oak, Flail (38@)
Spirit, Monarch (35 FCR, 105 Mana, 6 Magic Absorb)
The Stone of Jordan, Ring
The Stone of Jordan, Ring
Crafted, Demonhide Gloves (10 Fire Resist, 7 Lightning Resist, 25 MF, 18 Mana, Regenerate Mana 8%, +3 MPK)
Arachnid Mesh, Spiderweb Sash
War Traveler, Battle Boots (49 MF)
On Switch:
Call to Arms, Crystal Sword (6 BC, 5 BO)
Spirit, Monarch (35 FCR, 98 Mana, 7 Magic Absorb)
Inventory:
Annihilus, Small Charm (13/19@/8) <-- From SoJ #4, found at H Andariel during some random MFing.
Gheed's Fortune, Grand Charm (155% Gold, 36 MF, 15% Prices)
Hellfire Torch, Large Charm (Sorceress, 14/20@)
Lightning Skillers x3
Resistance, Life, Mana, FHR, Small Charms
Sixteen spaces left open for looting ... I love looting ...
Mercenary
Act II - Holy Freeze
Vampire Gaze, Grim Helm (8% LL, 20% DR, 13 MDR <--Socketed w/Sol)
Duress, Eth Balrog Skin (2009 Def, +15% ED)
Infinity, Eth Thresher (+280% ED)
As I said before, that's pretty much the dream gear. Before starting this character I'd only ever found one Griffon's Eye ... and that was long ago. I didn't expect to find another. I certainly didn't expect to find another at the most opportune moment. Clvl 93, with an untwinked Lightning Sorceress relatively just starting her journey! That's one of my top two drops ever. And so memorable in a way that can only come from being a part of a long term character project. (If you're wondering, the other drop that's in the running for 'best drop ever' was a Ber Rune that dropped at the start of my 1.11b Hammerdin's quest to obtain Enigma).
Once the Griffon's Eye dropped, my thinking on this character totally changed. There was no more 'maybe I'll get a Torch'. I was getting a Torch. And the best of anything else I wanted. Enigma, on a Sorceress. Why not!? Only the best is good enough. The only real disappointment on the gear (and it's a mild one), is with the charms. I thought it would have been easier to get Lightning skillers with modifiers ... or Lightning skillers in general. I only found/rolled three. I didn't want more ... because I really like looting ... but I would have preferred to have had the choice. And geez, the only modifier any of them had is +3 Strength (or you know, ~6 life). I had a bunch of Baal Grand Charms, and I kept rerolling them with all the gems I could pick up ... no luck. At least not on the Lightning Sorceress front.
Anyhow, what kind of numbers does all that gear get you?
Stats:
Life: 1369 (2385 with lvl 18 BO)
Mana: 755 (1105 with lvl 18 BO)
Strength: 42 (161)
Dexterity: 25 (69)
Vitality: 483 (547)
Energy: 35 (67)
Defense: 1842 <-- The best defense is a good offense!
Block: What's that?
FCR: 120% (8 Frames, 12 Frames Lightning/Chain Lightning)
FHR: 60% (8 Frames)
FRW: 70% <-- Zoom! Zoom!
MF: 216 <-- I opted for damage.
Physical Damage Received Reduced By 8%
Regenerate Mana 86%
+14 Life After Each Kill
+3 Mana After Each Kill <-- Surprisingly seemed to make a difference.
+15% Damage Taken Goes To Mana
Resistances (Hell):
Fire: 75 (+4 past 75 cap)
Cold: 75 (+1 past 75 cap)
Lightning: 75 (+8 past 75 cap)
Poison: 75 (+1 past 75 cap)
+6 Magic Absorb
+8% To Experience Gained <-- The D2R advantage.
+548% To Lightning Skill Damage
-23% To Enemy Lightning Resistance (plus Infinity on the merc)
Skills:
Standard Lightning Sorceress stuff. Here's what the LCS has to say about it:
Lightning - 20 (41) 6-35627 Lightning Damage
Chain Lightning - 20 (41) 6-13131 Lightning Damage, 13 Hits
Lightning Mastery - 20 (41) +530 To Lightning Skill Damage
Charged Bolt - 20 (41) 719-748 Lightning Damage, 24 Bolts
Nova - 20 (41) 2252-2925 Lightning Damage
Warmth - 5 (23) 294% Mana Recovery Rate
Teleport - 1 (23) 2 Mana Cost
Static Field - 1 (22) 17.3 Yard Radius
Telekinesis - 1 (22)
Frozen Armor - 1 (19)
Energy Shield - 1 (22) <-- Didn't use much, but it's available.
Battle Orders - (18) 190 Seconds
Battle Command (18) 200 Seconds
Finds:
It might be faster to list what she didn't find.
Das-Omen's personal grail stands at:
Tyrael's Might, Sacred Armor (TC 87)
Executioner's Justice, Glorious Axe (TC 87)
Death's Fathom, Dimensional Shard (TC 87)
Death Cleaver, Berserker Axe (TC 87)
Steelrend, Ogre Gauntlets (TC 87)
Steel Pillar, War Pike (TC 87)
Death's Web, Unearthed Wand (TC 87)
Darkforce Spawn, Bloodlord Skull (TC 87)
Astreon's Iron Ward, Caduceus (TC 87)
Stormlash, Scourge (TC 78)
Metalgrid, Amulet
Blinkbat's Form, Leather Armor (TC 3)
Knell Striker, Scepter (TC 3)
Torch of Iro, Wand (TC 3)
Executioner's Justice, Glorious Axe (TC 87)
Death's Fathom, Dimensional Shard (TC 87)
Death Cleaver, Berserker Axe (TC 87)
Steelrend, Ogre Gauntlets (TC 87)
Steel Pillar, War Pike (TC 87)
Death's Web, Unearthed Wand (TC 87)
Darkforce Spawn, Bloodlord Skull (TC 87)
Astreon's Iron Ward, Caduceus (TC 87)
Stormlash, Scourge (TC 78)
Metalgrid, Amulet
Blinkbat's Form, Leather Armor (TC 3)
Knell Striker, Scepter (TC 3)
Torch of Iro, Wand (TC 3)
So, yes. She found every set item (even including the Cow King's, which was found during the 2022 RFL). She also found every rune. El through Zod.
That was my first, and so far, only Zod Rune. And a big reason for my coming back to D2 in 2020. Check another one off the bucket list!
High runes found, but not used, include:
Vex - x5
Ohm - x6
Lo - x3
Sur - x7
Ber - x2
Cham - x2
Zod - x1
I use that strange wording because I *might* have gifted some of her high rune finds to my twinked characters ... but that would have been a couple years ago ... and I just can't remember for sure at this point ...
Some other notable finds that I do clearly remember include: The Cranium Basher and Dragonscale (actually I found two of these). Both were HanShotFirst 1.10+ career grailers at the time. After Das-Omen, the 1.10+ career grail now stands at -2 with Astreon's and Tyrael's being the final holdouts. Das-Omen found Templar's Might x3 ... two coming in back to back runs ... but the hunt for Tyrael's continues ... I suppose that brings me to:
Future Plans:
I like this character. I like this character a lot. If there was a clvl 100, I'd be happy to go reach it. But there's not. So now she's sort of missionless I suppose. I'm not feeling it yet ... but I know how that feeling hit me when my 1.11b Hammerdin reached clvl 99. Now, Das-Omen is in a little bit better shape than Helm-Hammerhand. As she's a truly untwinked character, I could always go for the non-Terror Zone single character grail. She's got all the set items, all the runes, all the Torches ... just fourteen unique items left to go. But those fourteen items are rare. Very rare. The rate of perceived progress on that goal would be abysmal. But, she's just so much fun to play that it might just work ...
I've also got an endless list of other D2(R) projects that I'd like to tackle. Some rather small. Some rather large. And while this character pretty much managed to avoid all the D2R specific changes, I would at some point like to check them out. Terror Zones loom largest, and while undeniably the future, I don't think I'm ready just yet. When I got back into D2 in 2020, I had a few definite goals: Take a character to clvl 99 (check, and now UT99er check). Find a Zod Rune (check). Complete the HanShotFirst 1.10+ career grail (now down to -2 from -5). Since then, D2R has come along, which really didn't change rare item drop rates. And then, Terror Zones have come along, which would change rare item drop rates if used. So, much like with wanting to complete Das-Omen under the conditions in which I set out to complete them, so to would I like to complete the HanShotFirst 1.10+ career grail. Therefore, I'm thinking, it could be time for another non-Terror Zone using, would-be-UT99er ...
But for now, may I present to you, one last time:
Das-Omen
CLVL 99 Lightning Sorceress
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