Bengoshi was very lucky in this act, he drops a lot of interesting things
Insane unique amulet
Spoiler
Rune drop!
Spoiler
Mediocre uniq trident (you can't always drop good item ).
Spoiler
Double drops! The weapon would have been nice if Bengoshi was a melee druid.
Spoiler
And another rune drop!
Spoiler
I don't have the screenshot after I identified it, I think it was Tancred's Skull.
Spoiler
Bengoshi did not have any problem in the first two acts and so he was less careful. It was a huge mistake and almost get him killed. These dolls are scary, Bengoshi hates them.
Radament himself was not too hard, but the minions with him were dangerous.
Spoiler
The Maggot Lair was a nightmare. The small corridors means that Bengoshi often jump right into pack of monsters. Also most of the time the mercenary and the bear were blocked so Bengoshi had to fight alone. And there was not enough space to avoid monsters that Bengoshi can't kill. It took a few tries to be able to go to the end.
Spoiler
The Arcane Sanctuary was also very very hard. Spectres take forever to kill.
Spoiler
I'm scared
Spoiler
The fight against Duriel. Bengoshi was very careful and teleport back to town to resurrect his mercenary each time he dies. Surprisingly, the fight was easier than expected
The hardest part of Act3 was the Flayer Dungeon. The first two tries, the dungeon spawns Bengoshi's favorite monsters Wraith It was too dangerous as Bengoshi can't kill them. The third time, the dungeon spawns Bone Fetish. Even though it was very risky, Bengoshi goes for it and manages to finish the dungeon
You're getting there! I like that this druid build has been working for you so far. It's quite powerful indeed, and quite safe (at least I've found it to be safe). Good luck!
Act5 hell minions varies a lot, some of them are deadly and others are quite weak. The difficulty really changes a lot depending on what monsters you get.
Bengoshi slowly goes through the act and manages to defeat Shenk.
Spoiler
Bengoshi decides to respec so he can use this belt
Spoiler
On his way to rescue Anya, Bengoshi encounters a lot of Succubi. They are probably the most dangerous monsters Bengoshi has to fight. They do massive damage and cast spells at very long range. Even though Bengoshi uses range skills, he still has to go relatively close to be able to kill them.
It was very hard to advance. Bengoshi often has to retreat to heal after killing only one or two Succubi. HE knew that the safe thing to do was to reload and hope for easier monsters but he was stubborn, probably way too much. He rushs to a huge pack, prepare to cast Tornado and then get multiple hits. He didn't even have a chance to drink potions.
Spoiler
And sadly the run ends here. It's entirely my fault, it was a really dumb move. I should have been much more careful. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry @Bengoshi I failed you
Clara farmed Raikinishu and Treehead throughout Normal for a Gull. I added some other bosses always to gain xp and hope for some goodies. The last boss was Nihlathak, whom Clara visited 900-ish times. She entered Nightmare at level 64 and with a Gull, a +2 to assassin skill claw (from Nilly) and a Kelpie Snare (from Pindle), besides other more forgettable items.
Nightmare was rushed, visited some times Pindleskin and Nilly after that for some xp. Would like to shop some decent claws by Anya, but i messed up and lost my red portal before entering some serious business, so i went further for Bhaal soon after.
Hell went good, death sentry performed very well. For fire immunes i tried Blade Fury with a Nord's Tenderizer, and it made fights much more manageable. Fight against Hell Diablo:
Reached Pindlegarden, and would like to collect a Lem beside my Ist rune (which came from Hellforge) and make a Delirium. A better pole for the merc would have been nice too. Runs were following the pattern: Pindle->Lower Kurast campfire->Kurast sewer level 2->Frigid Highlands. Clara's end came because of me navigating her in the middle of Icehawk Riftwing's pack by accident at the sewer level 2 entrance.
Allright, time for some Diablo updates. First thing first, look here:
1. Maxima, the Immolation Arrow Amazon. Due to my poor RNG I cannot make through Act IV Hell with her. Immolation Arrow was powerful until this point, too bad that I was not able to find any decent ranged weapon that would be good for dealing physical damage. And damage done by my Merc and Valkyrie is suprisingly low. I was counting on them, but I cannot imagine beating Chaos Sanctuary with her, without additional grinding for items. So I am abandoning her for now.
2. Zelowa, an Tiger Strike/Dragon Tail assassin that died by Creeping Feature's explosion on death in act II Nightmare. I haven't played Assassin in a while and it was quite fun and refreshing while it lasted. Of course, no grinding again.
3. And now, we have SirGance, a Paladin that's focused on Vengeance + Conviction aura combination. See some of his progress here:
Spoiler
The combination seems very powerful for now, although Vengeance is heavily mana-consuming. It is a first instance in a long time that I had a warrior class have 2 rows of mana potions on belt, as well charms that increased my mana reserves.
Also, learning from my successful Bart's playthrough, I am no longer taking "attack rating" bonuses lightly. So I have a merc with Blessed Aim aura to support that. Conviction Aura works also well, decreasing enemies' defense. That way, not only I'm boosting effective DPS, I also am minimizing mana usage. The more often I am able to land a succesful hit, the less mana I waste on useless swings.
Let's see if this philosophy going to work well later in the game.
To sum up the adventures of Chisaki the Necromancer so far:
Act I:
Spoiler
Act II:
Spoiler
Unfortunately, no screenshots of battle against Duriel. I was afraid it'll be very difficult with Poison Dagger as my main weapon, but fortunately, Duriel focused mostly on Golem and Merc and I found use of Life Tap curse very effective. Merc was able to tank the Lord of Pain, allowing Chisaki to stab it with Poison Dagger once per few seconds.
Act III:
Spoiler
Mephisto actually was more of a fight than Duriel. Imagine my shock.
Act IV:
Spoiler
Diablo proved to be very challenging. I had to use Iron Maiden + Golem combination and stabbing the Lord of Terror from time to time. Definitely the hardest and most dangerous battle of Normal difficulty.
The reward enabled Chisak ito create a nice Iron Golem from it.
Act V:
Spoiler
Something nice:
Before facing the Ancients Chisaki farmed Pindlesking for some rare items and experience. As for the Ancients:
Minions of Destruction were very... destructive towards the Fire Golem:
The fight against Baal:
And here we are:
After that, some Baalruns followed. For this playthrough, I won't restrict myself from farming. I need to keep reminding myself to be careful, however. So, at beginning of Nightmare difficulty, Chisaki looked like this:
Spoiler
As you can see, there are points in dexterity spend. This is due to two reasons: dex requirements for daggers and also I am going for decent chance to block. This necro doesn't have wall of minions protecting him.
The Butcher was exactly as I remember, extremely hard. The thing I didn't remember is that you have to be careful with the durability of your items as they disappear when the durability hit 0
Not only Aragorn gets his *ss kicked by the Butcher, he also loses half of his equipment
Aragorn decides to explore the dungeon a bit more to gain some levels before going back to the Butcher to take his revenge.
How does it feel, @lefreut ? Considering you're coming back after D2, and lots of years? I don't mean only the graphics - the gameplay, the general feel you're getting.
@JuliusBorisov It's nice to replay this game, I really like the atmosphere. I don't mind the old graphics, I think they aged quite well. But the gameplay is very rigid, the movement speed is slooow (you can't run in town...). You very rarely find an interesting item. I don't think you can have a lot of different builds.
Diablo 1, strictly as a piece of atmosphere, is peerless. Though in retrospect I believe 75% of that is due to Matt Ullman's soundtrack and the sound design. For 1996, considering it was the first of it's kind, it was a revelation. It created an entire genre. But as a pure gaming experience, it's light years behind it's sequel. It's astonishing how much they expanded upon the idea within 3 years.
Comments
Nightmare Act2
A free skill is always nice.
Enemies start to have a lot of resistances/immunities.
Time to fight Duriel
Nightmare Act3
Bengoshi was very lucky in this act, he drops a lot of interesting things
Insane unique amulet
Rune drop!
Mediocre uniq trident (you can't always drop good item
Double drops! The weapon would have been nice if Bengoshi was a melee druid.
And another rune drop!
I don't have the screenshot after I identified it, I think it was Tancred's Skull.
Bengoshi did not have any problem in the first two acts and so he was less careful. It was a huge mistake and almost get him killed. These dolls are scary, Bengoshi hates them.
The fight against Uncle Mephy.
Nightmare Act4
New act and already another set item.
The fight against Izual gives two skills point and another set item.
Rune drop on the road to destroy the Mephisto's Soulstone.
After an eld rune in normal (second-last worst), Hephasto drops a sol rune (worst drop in nightmare)
And third set item (all three were bad but it's always nice to see green drops).
Bengoshi had a lot of money so he decides to gamble a little. And this is what he gets
After that, Bengoshi was ready to go to the Chaos sanctuary to fight against Diablo and his minions.
Nightmare Act5
Bengoshi finds another good helm. I hesitate a lot on which runes I should use and finally decides to use runes that gives elemental resistance.
Bengoshi saves Anya and then avenges her.
The challenge against the Ancients starts well but then the mercenary died. Bengoshi had to be extra careful for the rest of the fight.
Baal's bodyguards.
Time to fight Baal.
Stats at the end of Act5.
Hell Act1
Bengoshi is now very careful as literally everything can kill him. The first big test was against Blood Raven.I didn't knew that elite monsters of this type exists
Last time Bengoshi had to save Deckard Cain!
Visiting the Countess.
The Smith drops a new weapon for my mercenary
Bengoshi now faces the same monsters type that ends Kaelis run
Hell Act1 Part2
Perfect example of all special abilities an uniq monster can have in Hell
The fight against Andariel \o/
Hell Act2
Radament himself was not too hard, but the minions with him were dangerous.
The Maggot Lair was a nightmare. The small corridors means that Bengoshi often jump right into pack of monsters. Also most of the time the mercenary and the bear were blocked so Bengoshi had to fight alone. And there was not enough space to avoid monsters that Bengoshi can't kill. It took a few tries to be able to go to the end.
The Arcane Sanctuary was also very very hard. Spectres take forever to kill.
I'm scared
The fight against Duriel. Bengoshi was very careful and teleport back to town to resurrect his mercenary each time he dies. Surprisingly, the fight was easier than expected
Was doing Immolation Arrow amazon run, just like the previous one.
Baal awarded me with The Oculus. Yay.
Since the character reached Hell difficulty, maybe I'll be doing updates on her.
Hell Act3 - Welcome to the jungle
Too bad Bengoshi is not a Necromancer.
The hardest part of Act3 was the Flayer Dungeon. The first two tries, the dungeon spawns Bengoshi's favorite monsters Wraith
The fight against Uncle Mephy
Hell Act4 - Highway to Hell
Strangely, the fight against Izual was insanely fast.
Rune drop!
Guess which rune I get from the Hell's Forge
Time to fight Diablo
Hell Act5 - The Final Countdown
Act5 hell minions varies a lot, some of them are deadly and others are quite weak. The difficulty really changes a lot depending on what monsters you get.
Bengoshi slowly goes through the act and manages to defeat Shenk.
Bengoshi decides to respec so he can use this belt
On his way to rescue Anya, Bengoshi encounters a lot of Succubi. They are probably the most dangerous monsters Bengoshi has to fight. They do massive damage and cast spells at very long range. Even though Bengoshi uses range skills, he still has to go relatively close to be able to kill them.
It was very hard to advance. Bengoshi often has to retreat to heal after killing only one or two Succubi. HE knew that the safe thing to do was to reload and hope for easier monsters but he was stubborn, probably way too much. He rushs to a huge pack, prepare to cast Tornado and then get multiple hits. He didn't even have a chance to drink potions.
And sadly the run ends here. It's entirely my fault, it was a really dumb move. I should have been much more careful. I don't know what I was thinking. I'm sorry @Bengoshi I failed you
In the same time, this is the treat of hardcore characters - you'll come stronger the next time.
Clara farmed Raikinishu and Treehead throughout Normal for a Gull. I added some other bosses always to gain xp and hope for some goodies. The last boss was Nihlathak, whom Clara visited 900-ish times.
She entered Nightmare at level 64 and with a Gull, a +2 to assassin skill claw (from Nilly) and a Kelpie Snare (from Pindle), besides other more forgettable items.
Nightmare was rushed, visited some times Pindleskin and Nilly after that for some xp. Would like to shop some decent claws by Anya, but i messed up and lost my red portal before entering some serious business, so i went further for Bhaal soon after.
Hell went good, death sentry performed very well. For fire immunes i tried Blade Fury with a Nord's Tenderizer, and it made fights much more manageable.
Fight against Hell Diablo:
Runs were following the pattern:
Pindle->Lower Kurast campfire->Kurast sewer level 2->Frigid Highlands.
Clara's end came because of me navigating her in the middle of Icehawk Riftwing's pack by accident at the sewer level 2 entrance.
1. Maxima, the Immolation Arrow Amazon. Due to my poor RNG I cannot make through Act IV Hell with her. Immolation Arrow was powerful until this point, too bad that I was not able to find any decent ranged weapon that would be good for dealing physical damage. And damage done by my Merc and Valkyrie is suprisingly low. I was counting on them, but I cannot imagine beating Chaos Sanctuary with her, without additional grinding for items. So I am abandoning her for now.
2. Zelowa, an Tiger Strike/Dragon Tail assassin that died by Creeping Feature's explosion on death in act II Nightmare. I haven't played Assassin in a while and it was quite fun and refreshing while it lasted. Of course, no grinding again.
3. And now, we have SirGance, a Paladin that's focused on Vengeance + Conviction aura combination. See some of his progress here:
The combination seems very powerful for now, although Vengeance is heavily mana-consuming. It is a first instance in a long time that I had a warrior class have 2 rows of mana potions on belt, as well charms that increased my mana reserves.
Also, learning from my successful Bart's playthrough, I am no longer taking "attack rating" bonuses lightly. So I have a merc with Blessed Aim aura to support that. Conviction Aura works also well, decreasing enemies' defense. That way, not only I'm boosting effective DPS, I also am minimizing mana usage. The more often I am able to land a succesful hit, the less mana I waste on useless swings.
Let's see if this philosophy going to work well later in the game.
Act I:
Act II:
Unfortunately, no screenshots of battle against Duriel. I was afraid it'll be very difficult with Poison Dagger as my main weapon, but fortunately, Duriel focused mostly on Golem and Merc and I found use of Life Tap curse very effective. Merc was able to tank the Lord of Pain, allowing Chisaki to stab it with Poison Dagger once per few seconds.
Act III:
Mephisto actually was more of a fight than Duriel. Imagine my shock.
Act IV:
Diablo proved to be very challenging. I had to use Iron Maiden + Golem combination and stabbing the Lord of Terror from time to time. Definitely the hardest and most dangerous battle of Normal difficulty.
The reward enabled Chisak ito create a nice Iron Golem from it.
Act V:
Before facing the Ancients Chisaki farmed Pindlesking for some rare items and experience. As for the Ancients:
Minions of Destruction were very... destructive towards the Fire Golem:
The fight against Baal:
And here we are:
After that, some Baalruns followed. For this playthrough, I won't restrict myself from farming. I need to keep reminding myself to be careful, however. So, at beginning of Nightmare difficulty, Chisaki looked like this:
As you can see, there are points in dexterity spend. This is due to two reasons: dex requirements for daggers and also I am going for decent chance to block. This necro doesn't have wall of minions protecting him.
Skills:
Items:
Merc:
https://www.gog.com/news/release_diablo
On his way to the Cathedral, Aragorn encounters a dying townsman and gets a first glimpse at the story surrounding this mysterious town.
Aragorn first two quests:
Ah... Fresh meat!
The Butcher was exactly as I remember, extremely hard. The thing I didn't remember is that you have to be careful with the durability of your items as they disappear when the durability hit 0
Not only Aragorn gets his *ss kicked by the Butcher, he also loses half of his equipment
Aragorn decides to explore the dungeon a bit more to gain some levels before going back to the Butcher to take his revenge.
For me, D2 is strictly better and more fun.