The last couple of days I've run NM Pindle for levels and gear before trying to take on Baal. Mazikeen went from level 54 to 66 (on /players 1), and gold reserves went past 2 million at Pindle's expense. Whereas I'd had very good luck finding self-repair gear from normal Pindle in this tournament, I was surprised there was not much to write home about this time other than a +skill assassin amulet and a tower shield with 3 sockets and extra durability that I may eventually make an Ancient's Pledge from if needed in hell.
I also gambled for assassin claws at Anya once I reached level 65 and went through almost the full 2 million in gold! Didn't find a single ethereal or self-repair claw or even one with extra durability, but a few with +skills that I sold back to Anya -- that was tough.
After a break, I decided to take on the Ancients and then Baal. The Ancients weren't too bad when using the separating technique. I had recommissioned the shadow master and she was at level 14, and she was much tanker than my holy freeze merc (who doesn't have much of a weapon or any life steal).
WSK wasn't too bad either. Baal's minions weren't very rough except for Lister's crew, and the Merc had to be revived a few times.
Baal himself took longer than I expected, and I had a couple of deaths there.
I've been dreading hell for a few days now thinking my setup probably wasn't going to cut it. Being untwinked is one thing, but untwinked and gear-restricted on a character I don't have much experience with didn't bode well! Vang's post last night worried me even more.
So I did a little research and decided after cleansing the Den of Evil on hell difficulty I'd respec Mazikeen one last time if hell difficulty seemed above my pay grade. It did.
Mazikeen is now a trapper. Took her out for a spin in the Blood Moor and Stony Field just to get a feel for using traps, and that was a blast (found a Lem that probably dropped from Rakanishu's bunch). Then we got to Blood Raven, and she and her crew were LI and killed my merc repeatedly before she went down. Still fun stuff. Resists are not too bad with Fade active.
Same applicable gear as before to kill NM Baal, and a point deducted for the skills used (Phoenix Strike), while an extra point added for using the ethereal crown with self-repair mod.
Code:
Softcore Table
Forum Name Character Name Class Level Location Score
----------- --------------- ----- ----- ------------ -----
Vang Lost Asn 70 Rogue Camp H 69
Triple Helix Mazikeen Asn 69 Rogue Camp H 69
Flan ColdAsIce Pal 42 Lut Gholein NM 42
Cattleya Torben Pal 25 Harrogath 28
Nazdakka TyphoidMary Ama 10 Stony Field 0
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Hardcore Table
Forum Name Character Name Class Level Location Score
----------- --------------- ----- ----- ------------ -----
Wolron SP_WolronShock Pal 21 Lut Gholein/Deeds 21
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