As much as I'm in favor of using the PlugY stash space, I am just as AGAINST using it's auto re-spec options. The game becomes trivial and loses much of it's appeal when you don't focus on a specific play-style. Akara's respecs are perfect and allow you to refine your build slightly. The best ARPGs of recent years (Path of Exile and Grim Dawn) also adhere to this theory of putting limits on redoing everything, and it's essential to actually learning a build and re-playability.
As an industry insider, I can give you a quick look at what's going on behind the scenes with Diablo et al.
Rumours about a remake, being little more than a vocalisation of the fanbase's wishful thinking, originate from the fact that Blizz was recently hiring a bunch of people to maintain the classic titles. Maintenance is the critical keyword here. Unfortunately, the sales of Diablo II provide negligible income nowadays, too little to make even a minor engine change feasible, e.g. adjusting the UI to better fit modern resolutions which could be inexpensively done by a team of two plus a project manager. The game's continued popularity, statistically, cannibalizes other products' revenues (most notably D3), which is the reasoning behind putting Diablo II in a 'maintenance mode'. The changes applied in the 1.14 patch revealed a further intention to kill Diablo II's modding scene by internalizing a few external files (makes the game even trickier to mod), in an attempt to monetize niche playerbases of the few more popular mods, either by converting them to verified Closed Battle.net users or by having them switch to newer Blizzard titles. It's also very unlikely that Activision's marketing execs would allow a Diablo II remaster to happen right now, as in the eyes of a big profit-driven corporation such things just don't return well enough to warrant the investment required (otherwise we'd all be on some clunky EA/WotC/Hasbro forum, not here at Trent's place ). Outsourcing or licensing something like this to a smaller Beamdog-like studio could actually be viable, but large companies are seldom that adventurous. And it seems that with the release of Overwatch they already expended all adventurousness they could afford, for the moment at least. I'm not saying that D2HD release date is never but I am saying it is highly unlikely to happen soon and, even if it happens, I'm not sure if I'd like to play a sugar-coated PG-13 Diablo II remastered by the Activision-Blizzard of now.
It's the 20th anniversary of the Diablo franchise this year and sixteen years since the release of Diablo II. You can buy an awesome Horadric Satchel if you play WoW and maybe some other swag in the other microtransaction-driven titles, but it looks like that's about it. Meh.
And that's why, unlike Activision-Blizzard, I'm releasing Diablo II Enhanced Edition this year. Because, fuck you, I'm not waiting another two decades for it.
Coming soon! September 20th.
As for everyone who doesn't have a copy of pre-1.14 installers, here's one place you could get 'em.
Once you have a 1.13 installation, you may want to make a copy of the entire game directory for modding purposes and update the original installation to the most recent version, so that you can still play on Battle.net if you like. More detailed instructions on maintaining Diablo II installations will be provided upon D2EE release.
@O_Bruce glad you're back in the game. Congrats on Sora's progress so far!
Hope this cheers you up and helps forget about you know what.
I appreciate the insight about the rumored D2 remaster, as it always seemed like wishful thinking, and the game is fantastic the way it is. Any insight into whether you think they are gonna push out another D3 expansion or if IV is in fact in the works?? Because Diablo IV, even if announced this year at Blizzcon, would seem to be a mid-2018 release at the earliest.
Couple question about your Enhanced mod: Will it be compatible with current characters?? Will it be PlugY friendly?? And if the resolution is increased, how did you fix the issue of you being able to see and kill monsters when they can't aggro you??
@God First of all, thank you for your insight, but I cannot say I agree with everything. But I also don't insist on D2 remake coming - I only mentioned some rumors. And people pretty much have reasons to rumor about things, be it another expansion for Diablo 3, Diablo 4 or Diablo 2 remaster - or even Diablo 2 for mobile devices, imagine that. Thing is, 2016 would be 20th anniversary for Diablo series, and people expect something significant to hear at Blizzcon 2016. And from marketing statepoint - what's better opportinity to announce some new Diablo project than 20th anniversary of the entire series? One thing is very likely - something big regarding Diablo franchise is going to be revealed this year.
Also, thanks for the meme. You made me laugh with that one, Deckard Cain was nailed in it.
Any insight into whether you think they are gonna push out another D3 expansion or if IV is in fact in the works?? Because Diablo IV, even if announced this year at Blizzcon, would seem to be a mid-2018 release at the earliest.
Tough call. Economically, D3 was a mistake, as its long-term sustainability relied on the auction house mechanic which, as you know, was discontinued. D3's current business model, based on a one-time purchase, suggests rolling out expansions/DLCs to further monetize the product. However, expansions require long development time and software engineers are not exactly the cheapest crowd in the workforce. From a marketing viewpoint, a much more efficient strategy would be to create a F2P or subscription-based sequel right away. But, who knows, maybe it's time for more experiments? With D3, Blizz tried to copy PayPal, so maybe they will try to become more like Uber now? Social economy is kind of fashionable right now and I can imagine a couple dozen ways they could take advantage of its mechanics. I don't work for them, though, so they're out of luck
Couple question about your Enhanced mod: Will it be compatible with current characters?? Will it be PlugY friendly?? And if the resolution is increased, how did you fix the issue of you being able to see and kill monsters when they can't aggro you??
1. D2EE is based on 1.10f (which was supposed to be the final version, hence the F) and there have been no significant changes to the character file system since then, IIRC. While I can't predict the many variables involved and guarantee a specific character to work, I've been testing D2EE with a character created on D2LoD 1.13c and encountered no issues. 2. PlugY is integrated with D2EE, though select functionalities are either disabled by default (the server event, as it makes no sense lore-wise) or incompatible (the instant skill reset button won't work as I'm working on a different solution). Disabled functionalities, if desired, can still be enabled via the PlugY configuration file. 3. It's a simple matter of extending the AI range cover the larger gameplay space. I'm still testing this but it should work as expected in all cases. In fact, with monsters engaging from further away, the game's difficulty might slightly increase for some character builds.
I ordered an older battle chest from ebay, and I was just looking for the other things I will need. Did you know that the guy that wrote plugY released the source code for it?
I didn't mind in the least that Blizzard had essentially abandoned D2 til recently, I wish they'd just left it alone aside from the once yearly ladder resets. The game is 16 years old, and we would have never seen things like Median XL (which is almost TOO good and involved but lead almost directly to Path of Exile) if Blizzard had insisted on retaining control over the code, which 1.14 seems to be a move toward. Back then, during an era when D2 and WC3 ruled the roost of PC gaming, modding was encouraged by Blizzard because it kept both games alive LONG past the sell date of any normal game. Times have changed in that regard, with the recent update to D2 and the shutting down of the most popular Vanilla WoW Private server. They clearly have a right and obligation to protect their IPs, but in the case of D2 especially, the offline game with preferred mods should really be at the discretion of the person who has probably owned the game for over a decade.
On another note, when you look back on things in retrospect, World of Warcraft, at least the way it came out of the box back in 2004 (and at least til Cataclysm) owed FAR more to Diablo 2 than any of the RTS games the franchise had been set in previously. I'll maintain that Diablo 2 remains the most important and influential PC RPG of all-time, even if it isn't quite the best (but it absolutely belongs in the top 10).
I've visited auntie few times. She awarded me with this ring:
+1 maximum damage, +5 to life restoration, +10 mana, cold resist +13%, posion resist +10%, reduces freezing time by half
"Sora reached Lut Gholein, the city nicknamed the Jewel of the Desert. Very soon, Sora found out that the city is in crisis. Demons are rampaging on the desert, and the creature known as Radament is living in the city's sewers. All of that happened after visit of Dark Wanderer and his companion...
The creature known as Radament was responsible for taking many lives, including Atma's son and husband. Sora swore to avenge them, and after recruiting Ashab as a help, she went down into city sewers and tracked the foul beast. Radament died from lightning spell, lifting his control over undead minions in process. Everyone could rest in peace, Atma's family included.
Sora found a mysterious scroll with Horadric crest on it, and later showed it to Cain (after informing Atma of her success, of course). The last of the Horadrim recognized the runes. It spoke of Horadric Staff and the Tomb of Tal Rasha, where Baal, the Lord of Destruction was imprisoned. Desert around Lut Gholein became extremely dangerous and infested by demons. The Horadrim suggested that the forces of evil might want to free Lord of Destruction from his prison. That can't be allowed to happen. Sora agreed to find and complete the Horadric Staff, which was required to access Tal Rasha's Burial chamber. The world needed to be sure that Baal was still imprisoned.
Sora found Horadric Cube in the Halls of the Dead, Staff of Kings in the Maggot Lair under Far Oasis and Amulet of the Viper on the altar in Claw Viper Temple. The Sorceress used Horadric Cube to merge two parts of the Horadric Staff in one. She was now ready to serach for the Tomb of Tal Rasha.
In the meantime, Sora reached level 19. She had a non-magical staff with two socket in it, with +2 to Fireball and Blaze as a special modifiers. After pestering the Countess few times, I had Tir and Ral runes and made Leaf Runeword in the staff. +3 to fire skills, +2 to Fireball, +2 to Blaze. Just awesome.
Drognan, the former Vizjerei mage, suggested that the place known as Arcane Sanctuary might hold a hint regarding the position of Tomb of Tal Rasha. Since Lut Gholein was build over old Vizjerei fortress, it wasn't out of realms of possibility that the path to Arcane Sanctuary lied below the city. Then, the city ruler, Jerhyn, demanded to see Sora as soon as possible.
Jerhyn admitted that he was forced to hire Greiz and his men to protect the city, because his own people were occupied with holding off attacks of the Demons coming from inside of the palace, from it's cellar. Given what Drognan has said before, and demons' sudden appearance, the Arcane Sanctuary migh lied belolw the palace. Sora was eager to investigate the manner and kill every filthy demon-spawn she encountered. After leaving trail of fiery death behind her, she finally found the portal to Arcane Sanctuary. To her surprise, the portal was active and the traces of magics left suggested it was used recently after hundreds of years. She stepped into the portal.
The place was fascinating and beyond belief. But it was also infested by demons and undead. Sora would surely like to study the place further, but the time was running short. Eventually, she found the wicked mage, who evidently used the portal and was forced to kill him with orbs of fire. He couldn't have been the original ruler of this place. He was too young, and really similar to Jazreth, the vizjerei mage who helped in fight against Diablo under Tristram.
Regardless, Sora found Horazon's journal and through it, she knew where the Tomb of Tal Rasha was - in the place known as Caniyon of the Magi. Conviently, she found the portal that would lead her there. Once she was there, finding the true tomb was not a difficult task - as defeating forces of evil wasn't difficult to our heroine.
Eventually, the Sorceress found the entrace to Tal Rasha's Burial Chamber. She used the Horadric Staff to open the passage, and she was surprised what she found inside. A huge, maggot-like demon attacked her and her companion. The warrior died swiftly, but Sora knew what to do. The demon either didn't felt any pain, or didn't care if it did. No matter which case it was, the demon attacked Sora with blind fury. The sorceress was smart, however, and enhanced her footsteps with fire, enabling her to damage and kill the demon by simply avoiding him. The demon was eventually slain.
Sora doesn't need to combat Duriel to win. She can do it by running away.
What she found inside the tomb shocked her. She found an angel, instead of Tal Rasha or Baal. The angel introduced himself as Tyrael, the Archangel of Justice and explained something terrible: Diablo, disguised as the Dark Wanderer, together with a fool named Marius managed to free Baal! Now, both Prime Evils were to travel to Kurast, to free their other brother. This cannot come to pass! Sora understood what kind of destruction the reunion of three Prime Evils could bring. She freed the Archangel, who unfortunately couldn't stay in mortal realm very long, and brought Cain bad news.
Well, at least they knew where to travel now. Kurast it is.
So good to see that you haven't given up yet, O_Bruce. I'm enjoying reading your stories, and hope the story of Sora will be a long one.
The adventure of Hexxat (Hell)
Hexxat continued fighting in the Black Pits the Pit. The second level, when there're several unique monsters and hordes of their minions at the same time on the screen, offers epic feelings.
During one of these fights, Hexxat found unique gloves. I held my breath as I knew elite unique gloves should be good.
And they really are. Dracul's Grasp is an ideal item for a vampire, even from not the in-game point of view, isn't it? And it's even more so from the in-game point of view, actually.
Hexxat had been trying to reach lvl 73 for the Stormshield, now she got a task of training even further (till lvl 76).
In order to quicker get an access to the Stormshield (because she didn't have enough space to store the Dracul's Grasp), Hexxat advanced a bit in the story, killing Mr. Smith in the process. He dropped set boots from the assassin's set, but for this particular build this set doesn't work (as the base damage of the boots is low).
Finally, lvl 73 was reached. Hexxat teleported to the Act V Normal and added a socket to the Stormshield.
She needed to compensate for losing +25 to all resistances granted by her "Rhyme" round shield before. A perfect diamond offered +19 to all resistances. If in the future Hexxat finds an Um rune (+22 to all resistances), she will take off the perfect diamond through a cube recipe.
Here're Hexxat's new shield, new defence rating (4923) and new resistances at 57-75-51-51:
Hexxat will lose 5% to Crushing blow and 30% poison resist when she will change her Venom Grip demonhide gloves for Dracul's Grasp Vampire Bond gloves, but I think it's the right way here: she will get additional 8% Life stolen per hit plus 6 life after each kill plus a 5% chance to cast level 10 Life Tap on Striking. With the number of monsters this difficulty provides and Death Sentry corpse explotions it should work.
... and while we're waiting for the mega post about Sora, here's a small update on Hexxat.
I didn't have much experience with the Hell difficulty before. And when Hexxat first reached Hell, the difficulty of fights was a revelation to me. The difference between NM Baal, NM Diablo and others from NM who were killed in less than 30 seconds AND Hell uniques was striking. For the first time in this run I felt as if chances were in the monsters' favour.
But I always believed that this game was all about items. This is why I stopped at the Pits in order to find and improve Hexxat's items, which seemed like a dream arsenal on NM and a discount sale on Hell. I was even afraid to make the Countess runs for runes, because hordes of undead there were scary to me - Hexxat had a lot of trouble dealing with undead on Hell. But it was only a suggestion from my part, I had to look what the game was about myself.
Zaraki looked like he didn't have troubles in the Act I Hell, while Hexxat, up until now I would say invinsible, suddenly began to look fragile and in danger.
Yet, I believed in items. I remember that after Hexxat had finished NM Andariel runs, she was set for the rest of NM, while her regeneration and leech items found during those runs still help tremendously even in Hell.
So. During one of the Pits runs, Hexxat found a unique Phase Blade...
It was the Lightsabre.
And in a blink of an eye the whole situation has changed. First of all, this weapon has very fast attack speed (-50%), which reduces the number of seconds Hexxat's kicks take. Second, this weapon adds Magic Damage and Lightning Damage (which works with kicks), and these types of damage are exactly what Hexxat needed against Hell monsters. Third, it gives lighting absorb at 25%. Before, Lighting ehchanted uniques felt the most dangerous ones.
Now, thanks to the Star Wars easter egg item, and thanks to the Stormshield, Hexxat could deal with enemies (at least from the Act I) a LOT faster, easier and safer. It's hard to express in words about how less dangerous the game has started to feel now.
So, if those who try this challenge find themselves in a situation when the game starts being too dangerous, it might be better to stop advancing in the story and find better items. The Pits on Hell can be a very good place for it - besides these 3 cool unique items Hexxat found good stuff for a barbarian and a sorceress:
As soon as Hexxat reached the 76th level and (finally) equipped the Dracul's Grasp, she was ready to visit Auntie Andy.
Life Tap from the gloves worked almost from the first try - after that Andariel was constantly under this curse, so Hexxat literally healed herself with each bite kick.
The fight itself took 46 seconds, another 14 seconds of the video were spent on overviewing Hexxat's items and stats.
The Sewers under Lut Gholein weren't dangerous for the assassin. In fact, one of the numerous undead monsters there gifted a unique Grand Crown to Hexxat. "Crown of Thieves" - well, due to Hexxat being a thief, that was an appropriate item. Its high defence and 9% Life Stolen per Hit suited well Hexxat's old friend, Kasim, who once again visited his home town, Lut Gholein.
Hexxat sent Radament back to his grave and was ready for maggots (levels 2 and 3 of the Maggot lair have Treasure Class of 85, which makes them a good place to try and find items).
Hexxat reached maximum gold, so now she doesn't have to bring each more or less expensive item to merchants.
Prior to this run, I didn't know much about the Dragon Talon skill and thus also used claw weapons on assassins. But this skill bases its damage on boots, not a weapon equipped. The equipped weapon influences only additional bonuses for the attack, like an Attack Speed. The Lightsabre has an excellent attack speed, faster than all claws Hexxat managed to find up until now. It also adds magical and lightning damage to kicks, which makes possible to easily fight against physical immune monsters.
While we're still waiting for that mega post, here's an update on Hexxat.
The adventure of Hexxat (Hell)
Hexxat cleared the Claw Viper Temple and defeated its superunique, Fangskin.
Next was Coldworm the Burrower. Usually, its poison is deadly, but due to constant kicks Hexxat's 5% chance of lvl 10 Life Tap from her gloves actually works almost on any monster who isn't killed in two or three attacks. As soon as the Life Tap is activated, any monster (even undead!) becomes a sourse to quickly bring life to 100%.
The Summoner was also defeated without troubles.
Looking at how useful her elite unique items were, Hexxat felt she needed to change her belt - she still weared a belt from the Sigon's set (thanks to its 20% fire resistance and +20 to life). Really, it was nearly the middle of the Hell difficulty, and she had a normal belt. So she paid several visits to the Maggots' Lair and the Ancient Tunnels. He reward was a Mithril Coil.
It was Credendum from the Disciple set, a very solid belt on its own. +15 to all resistances is huge.
The fight against Duriel took 5 seconds more than the one against Andrariel. It wasn't difficult, again because of the Life Tap curse.
Together with Deckard Cain, Sora has reached the Kurast Docks. As it turned out, the Kurast was under influence of Mephisto already, even if the Prime Evil himself was still imprisoned. He managed to corrupt he whole Zakarum religion and it's whorshippers. Sora was told by cain about hidden Khalim Relics, which were crucial to enter Mephisto's domain. The relic were: the Eye, the Brain, The Heart and the Flail.
Ormus' magicks localized Khalim's Eye in the Spider Cavern, Khalim's Brain in the Flyer Dungeon beneath Flyer Jungle and the Heart in sewers placed under city of Kurast. And finally, Flail was in the Travincal, the city of temples.
Knowing all that, Sora could begin her search. Soon after leaving the docks, she has encountered the Dark Wanderer himself. He teleported away, and summoned few lesser demons in the process. Sora, however, was relieved by this. Diablo isn't too ahead of her after all. Mephisto is surely still imprisoned.
The sorceress soon found Khalims Eye, and in meantime recieved potion from the alchemsit Alkor. The potion increased Sora's vitality, even if it tasted very poorly. Soon, not only the sorceress managed to find Khalim's Brain, but also the Gidbinn - a sacred blade of Skatsim. Sora decided to return the blade to Ormus. The strange magic-user rewarded her with magical ring and said the blade could be used to strenghten the docks defences.
Before venturing forth to the city of Kurast, Alkor asked the sorceress to retrieve the Lam Esen tome, also named the Black Book. The tome was to contain information regarding the Prime Evils, and so it could prove useful in defeating them. Sora agreed. Soon, she found herself in the city of Kurast - or at least former city, as now it reminded more of hell jungle than anything else. Sora did manage to retrieve Lam Esen's tome for Alkor and shortly after enhancing her abilities for bit, she was ready to search for the Heart in the sewers. There, she encountered undead Flyers for the first time. The creatures gave her some bad vibes... Nonehteless, Khalim's Heart was claimed. Now, only the Flail remains.
Sora entered Travincal, leaving the trail of fiery death after her. The Flail was guarded by corrupted Zakarum council, and that meant they will have to die. They weren't pushovers. Sora was surprised that they could even summon Hydras, who were supposed to be Zann Esu allies for generations! Nonetheless, Sora's magic eventually triumphed and she got her hands on Khalim's Flail. She followed Deckard Cain's instruction and merged the three relics inside Horadric Cube. Once Khalim's Will was restored, the Sorceress used it to destroy the orb, which magicks sealed the entrance to Mephisto's prison. Sora only hoped that Mephisto was still imprisoned. The sealed doors could provide some insight in this regard, but Baal was freed regardless, even if Tal Rasha's burial chamber required Horadric Staff to be opened.
Before facing Uncle Mehpy, I grinded to level 24 for Blizzard, Meteor and Storm. In the meantime, Sora found a Nokozan Relic amulet
+20% faster hit recovery, +3-6 fire damage, max fire resist +10%, fire resist +50%, +3 light radius
After entering the dungeon below the temple, Sora felt bad vibes again from Undead Stygian Dolls. She felt that these creatures managed to kill much stronger opponents than her in the future. Despite these bad vibes and foul stench of undead and blood, the sorceress pressed on until she reached final level of the dungeon. There, she had to combat corrupted council members again and... lord of Hatred himself.
Mephisto was free, and his hatred for living had no bounds. He attacked with his magicks, using cold and lightning, and Sora countered with Meteors. The fight was dangerous, as Sora nearly lost her life to Mephisto's cold orb, but her fire eventually has won. Mephisto was slain, his soulstone in Sora's hand. If Mephisto was to be defeated, his soulstone must be destroyed - that act should banish his spirit back into the Abyss.
Unfortunately, it appeared that both Diablo and Baal were suceeding so far. Diablo entered the Hell himself - most likely to reclaim his reign and to form an army of demons, while there was no information regarding Baal's plan. Deckard Cain claimed that the soulstone, such as Mephisto's, could only be destroyed in the Hellforge. And thus, Sora had to go after Diablo. She was fine with it - she only waited for opportunity to kill Lord of Terror himself. She'll do it, or she'll never forgive herself... Or never feel joy of living again.
---
Eventually, Sora and Deckard found themselves in the Pandemonium Fortress, and were greated by Archangel Tyrael, who resided there. Before hunting down the Lord of Terror himself, Tyrael asked the Sorceress for a favour. Had she happen to met Izual, the fallen angel who's spirit was trapped in demonic body, she was to end his torment and put his spirit to rest. Sora agreed and went out to the Outer Steppes to battle Diablo minions.
Soon, Sora walked into Plains of Despair, her senses sharpened and in caution. Word said that Rakanoth, the Lord of Despair rules over this land. Sora didn't met him, but has found Izual instead. The angel trapped into demonic body attacked the sorceress in fury. Sora ordered Ahsab, her mercenary, to distract the creature, while she prepared the death from above.
Izual's demonic body endured many fiery meteors, but eventually it gave up. After the battle, Sora has spoken to the spirit of Tyrael's former comrade and she found out Izual truly deserved suffering he felt and even more. It was he who instructed Prime Evils of the soulstone and how to corrupt them. Tyrael was devastated by the news, but as a token of his gratidude, he enhaced Sora's abillities with summoning meteors and blizzards.
Sora fought her way throught City of the Damned and went down to the River of Flames in Realm of Destruction. According to Cain, hellforge should be near and it could be used to destroy Mephisto's soulstone. Treating fiery minions of hell with cold blizzard, the sorceress found her way to the hellforge and encountered Hephasto the Armorer, an overlord demon. He wasn't very fond of cold. And in cold, he died. Sora used the demon's hammer to smash the soulstone, banishing Mephistot to the abyss.
The time has come to hunt Diablo himself, in the Chaos Sanctuary. While on her way, Sora met the projection of angel Hadriel, who told the sorceress how to face Diablo. She would need to open five seals for the Lord of Terror to face her. Could it be that Diablo himself fears her at this point? Sora hoped so. The satisfaction of being feared by Lord of Terror himself, and then killing him made Sora smile for the first time since forever.
Diablo's minions weren't very fond of Cold, even his champions who were guarding the seals. But eventually, each seal was broken and Diablo was forced to show himself. The battle has began. The spells of one of the Prime Evils were powerfull, but easier to dodge than Mephisto's. Sora decided to combat fire with fire, and unleashed rain of meteors on the Lord of Terror. The battle was long and cost Ashab his life, but Sorceress eventually triumphed. The Lord of Terror proved to be powerless before her... now, only one Prime Evil remained. Baal... But where was he?
Tyrael already know the answer. Baal invaded Mount Arreat, to claim what was hidden inside the holy mountain. It was the Worldstone, and artifact that was used to create this world and conceal it from both Heavens and Hell. Baal cannot be let to corrupt the stone. The Archangel opened the portal for both Cain and Sora and throught it, they arrived in Harrogath.
---
After their arrival, both Cain and Sora weren't greated by barbarians very warmly and were met with distrust from all of them but Malah, the healer. The elderly woman told them that the best way to gaing barbarian's trust was throught their actions. The City was protected by druidic spell cast by the Elder Council, with Nihtlahtak being sole survivor of it. But the city was still under siege, and barbarian warriors, who were fighting outside of the city were bombarded by siege machines. Sora was told by Larzuk, the blacksmith, about Shenk the Overseer, who was commanding the siege. His death could break it and scatter the army around Harrogath. Sora decided to kill the filthy monster.
And she did without shed of mercy.
In the meantime I did some experience runs and decided to restet stats and attributes on my character. Thunderstorm was far too dissapointing as a skill, so I decided to invest in Lightning instead.
Then, Sora countined to chase after Baal, killing all of his minions that dared to stand in her way and helping out Barbarians in the process. Acts like these allowed her to gain trust of barbarian society. That was feat in itself, as the Children of Bul-Katos were able to barely put up with magicks, even in hands of their allies. When Sora returned to Harrogath via Horadric Waypoint to rest and gain some strength, she heard about Anya who went missing after argument with Nihlathak. That was very suspicious, but the Elder claimed he had nothing to do with it. Nonetheless, he was not trusted with his statement. Sora, Malah and Cain combined some magicks and found out Anya's location - she was held in the frozen cavers. That was convenient, as Sora needed to go throught them anyways, as a form of shortcut.
After resting for a while, the sorceress head out again. The minions of Baal were specifically chosen to function and fight well in cold north, which meant they were just devastated by Sora's fire spells. Eventually, Sora met half-frozen Anya in the Frozen River and thawed her out using potion she recieved from Malah. The Elder's daughter was very grateful for her rescure and after returning to Harrogath, she told Sora about Nihlathak's betrayal. This fool has proposed a bargain to Baal: the sacred relic, which allowed the Lord of Destruction inside the Mount Arreat in exchange of sparring Harrogath. Making a deal with demon, espcecially one of Prime Evils, was insane - demons weren't know to keep their word.
Sora started tracking down Nihlathak, hoping the bargain was not made yet. If she was lucky, she could take on both Baal and Nihlathak at the same time. Sora found and managed to slay Nihlathak in his temple, but she was too late and the coward still managed to finish his bargain with Baal. Now, the Lord of Destruction was allowed to enter the Mount Arreat without facing it's guardian spirit of Nephalem. Sora had to return with the bad news, before heading out once again to summit Mount Arreat.
The air was thin, the weather was cold and monster huge in number, but the Sorceress finally made first step on summit of Mount Arreat. Then, she approached the altar she found there, and the spirit of Nephalem started to speak to her. She was to face a trial in battle. And so, the sorceress had to battle with the ancient barbarian spirits of first generation Nephalem: Talic, Korlic and Madawc. Everyone possessed an incredible strength, but Sora managed to outsmart and outmanevour them in battle, using teleport spell and attacking from distance with ice and lightning. Eventually, the ancient spirits were defeated. Neither of them were pleased with how Sora fought - their prejudice towards using magic in battle was still present - but then onetheless allowed the sorceress to enter Mount Arreat and enhanced her abilities before doing so. She was now ready to face the Lord of Destruction. Sora sincerely hoped she wasn't too late.
Going deeper and deeper in the dungeon and killing countless of Baal's minions, the sorceress finally reached the Throne of Destruction. She met Baal there, but he only laughed and send out his minions to kill the sorceress. Then another wave, and another. Eventually, Sora was about to attack the last of Prime Evils, but he laughed again and went throught the portal right behind her. Sora followed him immediately. The demon was cornered, yet he was still laughing. That was disturbing.
Sora met Baal in combat. Fire against fire and ice against ice. The elementalist sorceress eventually had upper hand in battle, and Baal teleported away to create copy of himself. The copy wasn't strong, however, as Baal's main body was already weak and heavily injured. The lord of Destruction has fallen soon after, his dying scream filling the Worldstone Keep Chamber.
Lol, I described "battle" against Baal much more epic than it actually was. Baal always was lame boss.
Sora didn't have any time to celebrate. Tyrael has appeared, and he brought the grave news. The worldstone was already corrupted, and it has to be destroyed, or else consequences could be very dire. The Archangel thanked the sorceress for everything that she had done, and offered to teleport her and Cain somewhere safe. The duo had no choice but to accept.
Soon, the Worldstone was destroyed in huge explosion, ripping the Mount Arreat to shreds. Hearing that, Sora was devastated. She fought hard to protect these Barbarians, and now they ended up dead or even worse - without purpose in their lives of survivors. If that wasn't enough, Sora felt empty. She hoped that revenge against Prime Evils would make her feel alive again, but it just wasn't so. The hole in her heart could not be healed by act of vengence. Feeling hollow inside, to sorceress went in her way, never to be heard again.
To be contiuned...
...
Immediately in Nightmare difficulty. With easier to write part. Yay!
Before entering Nightmare Difficulty, I grinded some on Baal. He didn't drop anything of value to my character expect for the belt, which gave me nice boost to life. Other than that, he dropped circlet from Naj's set but it wasn't very useful at that point.
After reaching level 46, Sora went on Nightmare Difficulty and cleared Act 1 with ease. Quest 1 was no problem and the Blood Raven ended up dying quickly.
The Countess, the Smith. Nothing too special, and no good runes were dropped.
Extra Strong as additional modifier. Lightning Enchanted as additional modifier.
I did killed Andariel pretty swiftly (static field greately contributed to that, alongside with Andariel's weakness to meteor). She dropped gloves from Orophan set. Those would prove usefull for physical fighters (ranged or not), for casters, not so much. Overall, I had to sell them.I have no screenshots from battle with Andariel for some reasons (I just didn't find them in the folder), but I do have screenshot with my new ACT 2 mercenary.
Then I did some Auntie Andy runs for some items and experience. It was quite good. Among some things, Sora has found new Sorceress Orb with +2 to her skills level, which was a huge boost. But, while those runs, I experienced something utterly unexpected.
Sora teleported into Andariel Chamber and immediately engaged pack of ghoul minons with unique leader. Just typical mini-boss pack. But, the damage from Lightning Enchanted modifier, however, were not. I did managed to drink health potion, but it was not enough. And I was not fast enough for full rejuvenation potion.
Sora died to a ghoul boss pack. Yay.... My characters tends to have a very bad luck against undead opponents... Then again, it was a double-K.O so it wasn't that bad, right? Right? Oh, Zaraki. Right. Ffffffffu-.......
-----
Anyways, I'm little dissapointed. It might have been nightmare difficulty, but Sora still didn't made it later acts of it. Well, maybe I need a break from this game. Maybe don't. Maybe I'll wait until Blizzcon. Maybe not. We'll see, I'll have enough games to play (but I don't feel like continuing my pokemon nuzlocke). I'll probably won't write anything on my playthoughts for some time.
I'll just cheer for Hexxat. You sexy lucky vampire.
I'm very sorry for you! It looks like playing a sorceress on hardcore is difficult.
Oh, don't be. It's only a videogame and I'm not really upset. That caught me off-guard and that's it. The only instance when I was really, really mad was with Zaraki dying to the very thing I hate the most in the game. No need to cry over spilled milk.... only in instances it's not milk, but rum instead.
Sorceress might have low life in comparison to the rest of characters, which may may them look like they're hard characters to play in hardcore mode. But I don't believe so. The truth is, I just made some mistakes. I have not invested in even 1 defensive skill, and energy shield could come in handy. Also, I was caught off-guard and Sora just died. It happens.
Still, Sora died in act I in nightmare, while my best sorceress who died had access to hell difficulty already, but died in ACt 4 Nightmare during Diablo run (I accidentally teleported in the middle of knights (warriors ones), who then proceeded to CENSORED the sorceress with their swords from every direciton possible... That was stupid death and it made me laugh. My roommate too.
I'm waiting for additional updates on Hexxat. And your bard run, I still haven't forgotten about that.
Just pop in to congratulate on the ongoing success of Hexxat and the illuminating sorceress run by O_Bruce. Meanwhile i managed to kill 6 sorceress with the names: Melisandre, Melisandre, Melisandre, Melisandre, Imada Lek and Ravenslight. I tried to choose another class for one run, but i always go with the sorceress in the end, for some reason. Right now Nonnahswriter the sorceress prepares herself for the fight with Blood Raven.
The Act III journey went smoothly. There were no Stygian Dolls neither in the Flayer Dungeon nor in the Sewers.
The Council fight in Travincal was a big one. For the first time in the game, Hexxat had to use multiple Full rejuvenation potions to survive. Eventually, all the demons were defeated.
Fully aware about the danger Stygian Dolls could bring, Hexxat cautiosly went through the Halls on the way to Mephisto. Cloak of Shadows and Mind Blast made those nasty little things fight Kasim and the Shadow Master, not Hexxat.
Several times Hexxat attempted to engage them in melee and actually didn't have any troubles. Maybe Knockback (from the Talon ability) and Flee (from the Rattlecape) helped here. To tell the truth, the Council proved much more dangerous to Hexxat.
Finally, Mephisto. The fight was not different to the one against Duriel.
Hexxat paid several visits to Uncle Mephisto, but didn't find anything worthy. It was nice to see a drop of Charged Essence of Hatred, though - not that Hexxat will need an additional respec, just was nice to see this item in the actual game.
So, Hexxat continued into the Act IV and defeated Izual and Hephasto the Armorer there.
The Hell Forge didn't provide a high-level rune:
Both River of Flame and Chaos Sanctuary have TC of 85, so Hexxat will look for items there before actually facing Diablo.
And so Nonnahswriter, the sorceress come to life, to avange her sister!
For 'Nah the first hard fight was the one against Coldcrow:
It was a good excercise for Blood Raven.
With the slowing effect of ice blast 'Nah and her new rogue companion had enough time to handle tough opponents like Griswold or The Smith:
'Nah would like to make a Stealth armor before facing Andariel, so she visited the the Countess for runes. From her 4 visits the second:
, and the fourth visit provided the necessary runes:
Some demons in the front of Andariel's lair gave 'Nah the needed experience points to reach level 17, and so she could actually use the Stealth armour in the fight with Andariel.
Andy's minions were eliminated with Nova. 'Nah's rogue friend falled after some seconds against Andy, but 'Nah got the upper hand with creative use of Static field and Ice blast.
This post is just to show all of you great people who contribute to this thread that I read every single update of yours and often a single "like" per post feels petty compared to the amount of time you invest into your updates. So THANK YOU for these! I truly enjoy reading them.
After all, I decided to make another playthorught. I just won't be updating that often.... Special thanks for @Skatan
Break from the game, my arse.
The faithless
I am without my faith.
I am... I was proud paladin in the serve of Zakarum. Our Order was created to protect and serve Zakarun's priest on their way to spread this religion of theirs, among more.... savage people in savage lands. That was the purpose of paladins... Or, it used to be like it. I was commanded to kill innocent on behalf of "Light". Made me lose faith. Turns out, Zakarumites were more savage than "savages". The entire religion was corrupt, and so, I left and discarded my shield and so-called holy magic. Shield is symbol of Paladin's faith, while the magic is their tool of the light.
I've traveled, seeking way to redeem myself. And so, eventually, I arrived in the rouge encampment. The Sisters of Sightless Eye were in trouble. Their warriors, priests and archers corrupted, and their monastery claimed by the demoness, Andariel. I decided to help.
My first act was to cleanse the den of evil creatures, and it was rather easy task. But I managed to earn the trust of the Rouges. Expect Kashiya's. She demanded further proof of my loyality, and I couldn't blame her. She told me of a champion, who fought Diablo in Tristram, Moreina was her name. She was corrupted first, and right now is desecrating monastery's burial grounds.
Armed with spear, I head out to face the corrupted rouge. She was wast and agile, but three thrusts of my spear was enough to free her of demonic corruption, and of her life.
I returned to the camp. Kashiya was relieved to hear the... not so bad news and even gave me one of her best archers as a companion. The young rouge demonstrated the abillity to enhance her arrows with fire. Impressive.
I've heard from Akara, the Sister's seer, about Deckard Cain the last of the Horadrim. His life was in danger, and I was given opportunity to save it. It was relieving. Saving life, instead of taking it away. Akara told me about the Stone Circle in Stone Field, and of Tree of Infinuss and runes that were the key to use the circle. All to get in Tristram on time. Eventually, after slaying many hell minions in my path, I get to use the scroll and to open the portal to Tristram.
The town was burning and in ruin. Evidently Diablo was already done there. I was forced to kill many enemies - hell minions and former citizens, now turned into undead, alike. Eventually, I made my way to town square, where I saw Cain. He was imprisoned and tortured, starved and in thirst. Yet he was alive. My efforts were worth it. I've saved the elder Horadrim.
It took Cain long time to recover from what he experienced. But when he did, he had much to say. About prince Aidan, Diablo. The Dark Wanderer, who is most likely Diablo himself. Apparently, Andariel is now serving Diablo. There is no telling what Prime Evil is planning to accomplish, but it won't be good and will bring only terror and death. Diablo must be stopped. For that, Andariel shall be slain first, to liberate the Monastery and to open path to the east, where Dark Wanderer went.
The fight wasn't difficult, Hexxat gulped one potion of FR during it to restore full mana. At the end of the video I show (once again) the inventory and (this time) skill distribution. Hexxat is of the 81th level, with 75% resist agaisnt everything except for Poison.
Diablo dropped Immortal King's Will. If only Zaraki was here...
Comments
It's also very unlikely that Activision's marketing execs would allow a Diablo II remaster to happen right now, as in the eyes of a big profit-driven corporation such things just don't return well enough to warrant the investment required (otherwise we'd all be on some clunky EA/WotC/Hasbro forum, not here at Trent's place
It's the 20th anniversary of the Diablo franchise this year and sixteen years since the release of Diablo II. You can buy an awesome Horadric Satchel if you play WoW and maybe some other swag in the other microtransaction-driven titles, but it looks like that's about it. Meh.
And that's why, unlike Activision-Blizzard, I'm releasing Diablo II Enhanced Edition this year.
Because, fuck you, I'm not waiting another two decades for it.
Coming soon! September 20th.
As for everyone who doesn't have a copy of pre-1.14 installers, here's one place you could get 'em.
Once you have a 1.13 installation, you may want to make a copy of the entire game directory for modding purposes and update the original installation to the most recent version, so that you can still play on Battle.net if you like.
More detailed instructions on maintaining Diablo II installations will be provided upon D2EE release.
@O_Bruce glad you're back in the game. Congrats on Sora's progress so far!
Couple question about your Enhanced mod: Will it be compatible with current characters?? Will it be PlugY friendly?? And if the resolution is increased, how did you fix the issue of you being able to see and kill monsters when they can't aggro you??
First of all, thank you for your insight, but I cannot say I agree with everything. But I also don't insist on D2 remake coming - I only mentioned some rumors. And people pretty much have reasons to rumor about things, be it another expansion for Diablo 3, Diablo 4 or Diablo 2 remaster - or even Diablo 2 for mobile devices, imagine that. Thing is, 2016 would be 20th anniversary for Diablo series, and people expect something significant to hear at Blizzcon 2016. And from marketing statepoint - what's better opportinity to announce some new Diablo project than 20th anniversary of the entire series? One thing is very likely - something big regarding Diablo franchise is going to be revealed this year.
Also, thanks for the meme. You made me laugh with that one, Deckard Cain was nailed in it.
2. PlugY is integrated with D2EE, though select functionalities are either disabled by default (the server event, as it makes no sense lore-wise) or incompatible (the instant skill reset button won't work as I'm working on a different solution). Disabled functionalities, if desired, can still be enabled via the PlugY configuration file.
3. It's a simple matter of extending the AI range cover the larger gameplay space. I'm still testing this but it should work as expected in all cases. In fact, with monsters engaging from further away, the game's difficulty might slightly increase for some character builds.
plugy.free.fr/en/index.html
And if I had kept searching I would have found this first. It says that it works with 1.13d so I grabbed that too.
plugY 11.0
On another note, when you look back on things in retrospect, World of Warcraft, at least the way it came out of the box back in 2004 (and at least til Cataclysm) owed FAR more to Diablo 2 than any of the RTS games the franchise had been set in previously. I'll maintain that Diablo 2 remains the most important and influential PC RPG of all-time, even if it isn't quite the best (but it absolutely belongs in the top 10).
I've visited auntie few times. She awarded me with this ring:
+1 maximum damage, +5 to life restoration, +10 mana, cold resist +13%, posion resist +10%, reduces freezing time by half
"Sora reached Lut Gholein, the city nicknamed the Jewel of the Desert. Very soon, Sora found out that the city is in crisis. Demons are rampaging on the desert, and the creature known as Radament is living in the city's sewers. All of that happened after visit of Dark Wanderer and his companion...
The creature known as Radament was responsible for taking many lives, including Atma's son and husband. Sora swore to avenge them, and after recruiting Ashab as a help, she went down into city sewers and tracked the foul beast. Radament died from lightning spell, lifting his control over undead minions in process. Everyone could rest in peace, Atma's family included.
Sora found a mysterious scroll with Horadric crest on it, and later showed it to Cain (after informing Atma of her success, of course). The last of the Horadrim recognized the runes. It spoke of Horadric Staff and the Tomb of Tal Rasha, where Baal, the Lord of Destruction was imprisoned. Desert around Lut Gholein became extremely dangerous and infested by demons. The Horadrim suggested that the forces of evil might want to free Lord of Destruction from his prison. That can't be allowed to happen. Sora agreed to find and complete the Horadric Staff, which was required to access Tal Rasha's Burial chamber. The world needed to be sure that Baal was still imprisoned.
Sora found Horadric Cube in the Halls of the Dead, Staff of Kings in the Maggot Lair under Far Oasis and Amulet of the Viper on the altar in Claw Viper Temple. The Sorceress used Horadric Cube to merge two parts of the Horadric Staff in one. She was now ready to serach for the Tomb of Tal Rasha.
In the meantime, Sora reached level 19. She had a non-magical staff with two socket in it, with +2 to Fireball and Blaze as a special modifiers. After pestering the Countess few times, I had Tir and Ral runes and made Leaf Runeword in the staff. +3 to fire skills, +2 to Fireball, +2 to Blaze. Just awesome.
Drognan, the former Vizjerei mage, suggested that the place known as Arcane Sanctuary might hold a hint regarding the position of Tomb of Tal Rasha. Since Lut Gholein was build over old Vizjerei fortress, it wasn't out of realms of possibility that the path to Arcane Sanctuary lied below the city. Then, the city ruler, Jerhyn, demanded to see Sora as soon as possible.
Jerhyn admitted that he was forced to hire Greiz and his men to protect the city, because his own people were occupied with holding off attacks of the Demons coming from inside of the palace, from it's cellar. Given what Drognan has said before, and demons' sudden appearance, the Arcane Sanctuary migh lied belolw the palace. Sora was eager to investigate the manner and kill every filthy demon-spawn she encountered. After leaving trail of fiery death behind her, she finally found the portal to Arcane Sanctuary. To her surprise, the portal was active and the traces of magics left suggested it was used recently after hundreds of years. She stepped into the portal.
The place was fascinating and beyond belief. But it was also infested by demons and undead. Sora would surely like to study the place further, but the time was running short. Eventually, she found the wicked mage, who evidently used the portal and was forced to kill him with orbs of fire. He couldn't have been the original ruler of this place. He was too young, and really similar to Jazreth, the vizjerei mage who helped in fight against Diablo under Tristram.
Regardless, Sora found Horazon's journal and through it, she knew where the Tomb of Tal Rasha was - in the place known as Caniyon of the Magi. Conviently, she found the portal that would lead her there. Once she was there, finding the true tomb was not a difficult task - as defeating forces of evil wasn't difficult to our heroine.
Eventually, the Sorceress found the entrace to Tal Rasha's Burial Chamber. She used the Horadric Staff to open the passage, and she was surprised what she found inside. A huge, maggot-like demon attacked her and her companion. The warrior died swiftly, but Sora knew what to do. The demon either didn't felt any pain, or didn't care if it did. No matter which case it was, the demon attacked Sora with blind fury. The sorceress was smart, however, and enhanced her footsteps with fire, enabling her to damage and kill the demon by simply avoiding him. The demon was eventually slain.
Sora doesn't need to combat Duriel to win. She can do it by running away.
What she found inside the tomb shocked her. She found an angel, instead of Tal Rasha or Baal. The angel introduced himself as Tyrael, the Archangel of Justice and explained something terrible: Diablo, disguised as the Dark Wanderer, together with a fool named Marius managed to free Baal! Now, both Prime Evils were to travel to Kurast, to free their other brother. This cannot come to pass! Sora understood what kind of destruction the reunion of three Prime Evils could bring. She freed the Archangel, who unfortunately couldn't stay in mortal realm very long, and brought Cain bad news.
Well, at least they knew where to travel now. Kurast it is.
The adventure of Hexxat (Hell)
Hexxat continued fighting in
the Black Pitsthe Pit. The second level, when there're several unique monsters and hordes of their minions at the same time on the screen, offers epic feelings.During one of these fights, Hexxat found unique gloves. I held my breath as I knew elite unique gloves should be good.
And they really are. Dracul's Grasp is an ideal item for a vampire, even from not the in-game point of view, isn't it? And it's even more so from the in-game point of view, actually.
Hexxat had been trying to reach lvl 73 for the Stormshield, now she got a task of training even further (till lvl 76).
In order to quicker get an access to the Stormshield (because she didn't have enough space to store the Dracul's Grasp), Hexxat advanced a bit in the story, killing Mr. Smith in the process. He dropped set boots from the assassin's set, but for this particular build this set doesn't work (as the base damage of the boots is low).
Finally, lvl 73 was reached. Hexxat teleported to the Act V Normal and added a socket to the Stormshield.
She needed to compensate for losing +25 to all resistances granted by her "Rhyme" round shield before. A perfect diamond offered +19 to all resistances. If in the future Hexxat finds an Um rune (+22 to all resistances), she will take off the perfect diamond through a cube recipe.
Here're Hexxat's new shield, new defence rating (4923) and new resistances at 57-75-51-51:
Hexxat will lose 5% to Crushing blow and 30% poison resist when she will change her Venom Grip demonhide gloves for Dracul's Grasp Vampire Bond gloves, but I think it's the right way here: she will get additional 8% Life stolen per hit plus 6 life after each kill plus a 5% chance to cast level 10 Life Tap on Striking. With the number of monsters this difficulty provides and Death Sentry corpse explotions it should work.
I didn't have much experience with the Hell difficulty before. And when Hexxat first reached Hell, the difficulty of fights was a revelation to me. The difference between NM Baal, NM Diablo and others from NM who were killed in less than 30 seconds AND Hell uniques was striking. For the first time in this run I felt as if chances were in the monsters' favour.
But I always believed that this game was all about items. This is why I stopped at the Pits in order to find and improve Hexxat's items, which seemed like a dream arsenal on NM and a discount sale on Hell. I was even afraid to make the Countess runs for runes, because hordes of undead there were scary to me - Hexxat had a lot of trouble dealing with undead on Hell. But it was only a suggestion from my part, I had to look what the game was about myself.
Zaraki looked like he didn't have troubles in the Act I Hell, while Hexxat, up until now I would say invinsible, suddenly began to look fragile and in danger.
Yet, I believed in items. I remember that after Hexxat had finished NM Andariel runs, she was set for the rest of NM, while her regeneration and leech items found during those runs still help tremendously even in Hell.
So. During one of the Pits runs, Hexxat found a unique Phase Blade...
It was the Lightsabre.
And in a blink of an eye the whole situation has changed. First of all, this weapon has very fast attack speed (-50%), which reduces the number of seconds Hexxat's kicks take. Second, this weapon adds Magic Damage and Lightning Damage (which works with kicks), and these types of damage are exactly what Hexxat needed against Hell monsters. Third, it gives lighting absorb at 25%. Before, Lighting ehchanted uniques felt the most dangerous ones.
Now, thanks to the Star Wars easter egg item, and thanks to the Stormshield, Hexxat could deal with enemies (at least from the Act I) a LOT faster, easier and safer. It's hard to express in words about how less dangerous the game has started to feel now.
So, if those who try this challenge find themselves in a situation when the game starts being too dangerous, it might be better to stop advancing in the story and find better items. The Pits on Hell can be a very good place for it - besides these 3 cool unique items Hexxat found good stuff for a barbarian and a sorceress:
As soon as Hexxat reached the 76th level and (finally) equipped the Dracul's Grasp, she was ready to visit Auntie Andy.
Life Tap from the gloves worked almost from the first try - after that Andariel was constantly under this curse, so Hexxat literally healed herself with each
bitekick.The fight itself took 46 seconds, another 14 seconds of the video were spent on overviewing Hexxat's items and stats.
The Sewers under Lut Gholein weren't dangerous for the assassin. In fact, one of the numerous undead monsters there gifted a unique Grand Crown to Hexxat. "Crown of Thieves" - well, due to Hexxat being a thief, that was an appropriate item. Its high defence and 9% Life Stolen per Hit suited well Hexxat's old friend, Kasim, who once again visited his home town, Lut Gholein.
Hexxat sent Radament back to his grave and was ready for maggots (levels 2 and 3 of the Maggot lair have Treasure Class of 85, which makes them a good place to try and find items).
Hexxat reached maximum gold, so now she doesn't have to bring each more or less expensive item to merchants.
While we're still waiting for that mega post, here's an update on Hexxat.
The adventure of Hexxat (Hell)
Hexxat cleared the Claw Viper Temple and defeated its superunique, Fangskin.
Next was Coldworm the Burrower. Usually, its poison is deadly, but due to constant kicks Hexxat's 5% chance of lvl 10 Life Tap from her gloves actually works almost on any monster who isn't killed in two or three attacks. As soon as the Life Tap is activated, any monster (even undead!) becomes a sourse to quickly bring life to 100%.
The Summoner was also defeated without troubles.
Looking at how useful her elite unique items were, Hexxat felt she needed to change her belt - she still weared a belt from the Sigon's set (thanks to its 20% fire resistance and +20 to life). Really, it was nearly the middle of the Hell difficulty, and she had a normal belt. So she paid several visits to the Maggots' Lair and the Ancient Tunnels. He reward was a Mithril Coil.
It was Credendum from the Disciple set, a very solid belt on its own. +15 to all resistances is huge.
The fight against Duriel took 5 seconds more than the one against Andrariel. It wasn't difficult, again because of the Life Tap curse.
Hexxat is closer and closer to you know what.
Together with Deckard Cain, Sora has reached the Kurast Docks. As it turned out, the Kurast was under influence of Mephisto already, even if the Prime Evil himself was still imprisoned. He managed to corrupt he whole Zakarum religion and it's whorshippers. Sora was told by cain about hidden Khalim Relics, which were crucial to enter Mephisto's domain. The relic were: the Eye, the Brain, The Heart and the Flail.
Ormus' magicks localized Khalim's Eye in the Spider Cavern, Khalim's Brain in the Flyer Dungeon beneath Flyer Jungle and the Heart in sewers placed under city of Kurast. And finally, Flail was in the Travincal, the city of temples.
Knowing all that, Sora could begin her search. Soon after leaving the docks, she has encountered the Dark Wanderer himself. He teleported away, and summoned few lesser demons in the process. Sora, however, was relieved by this. Diablo isn't too ahead of her after all. Mephisto is surely still imprisoned.
The sorceress soon found Khalims Eye, and in meantime recieved potion from the alchemsit Alkor. The potion increased Sora's vitality, even if it tasted very poorly. Soon, not only the sorceress managed to find Khalim's Brain, but also the Gidbinn - a sacred blade of Skatsim. Sora decided to return the blade to Ormus. The strange magic-user rewarded her with magical ring and said the blade could be used to strenghten the docks defences.
Before venturing forth to the city of Kurast, Alkor asked the sorceress to retrieve the Lam Esen tome, also named the Black Book. The tome was to contain information regarding the Prime Evils, and so it could prove useful in defeating them. Sora agreed. Soon, she found herself in the city of Kurast - or at least former city, as now it reminded more of hell jungle than anything else. Sora did manage to retrieve Lam Esen's tome for Alkor and shortly after enhancing her abilities for bit, she was ready to search for the Heart in the sewers. There, she encountered undead Flyers for the first time. The creatures gave her some bad vibes... Nonehteless, Khalim's Heart was claimed. Now, only the Flail remains.
Sora entered Travincal, leaving the trail of fiery death after her. The Flail was guarded by corrupted Zakarum council, and that meant they will have to die. They weren't pushovers. Sora was surprised that they could even summon Hydras, who were supposed to be Zann Esu allies for generations! Nonetheless, Sora's magic eventually triumphed and she got her hands on Khalim's Flail. She followed Deckard Cain's instruction and merged the three relics inside Horadric Cube. Once Khalim's Will was restored, the Sorceress used it to destroy the orb, which magicks sealed the entrance to Mephisto's prison. Sora only hoped that Mephisto was still imprisoned. The sealed doors could provide some insight in this regard, but Baal was freed regardless, even if Tal Rasha's burial chamber required Horadric Staff to be opened.
Before facing Uncle Mehpy, I grinded to level 24 for Blizzard, Meteor and Storm. In the meantime, Sora found a Nokozan Relic amulet
+20% faster hit recovery, +3-6 fire damage, max fire resist +10%, fire resist +50%, +3 light radius
After entering the dungeon below the temple, Sora felt bad vibes again from Undead Stygian Dolls. She felt that these creatures managed to kill much stronger opponents than her in the future. Despite these bad vibes and foul stench of undead and blood, the sorceress pressed on until she reached final level of the dungeon. There, she had to combat corrupted council members again and... lord of Hatred himself.
Mephisto was free, and his hatred for living had no bounds. He attacked with his magicks, using cold and lightning, and Sora countered with Meteors. The fight was dangerous, as Sora nearly lost her life to Mephisto's cold orb, but her fire eventually has won. Mephisto was slain, his soulstone in Sora's hand. If Mephisto was to be defeated, his soulstone must be destroyed - that act should banish his spirit back into the Abyss.
Unfortunately, it appeared that both Diablo and Baal were suceeding so far. Diablo entered the Hell himself - most likely to reclaim his reign and to form an army of demons, while there was no information regarding Baal's plan. Deckard Cain claimed that the soulstone, such as Mephisto's, could only be destroyed in the Hellforge. And thus, Sora had to go after Diablo. She was fine with it - she only waited for opportunity to kill Lord of Terror himself. She'll do it, or she'll never forgive herself... Or never feel joy of living again.
---
Eventually, Sora and Deckard found themselves in the Pandemonium Fortress, and were greated by Archangel Tyrael, who resided there. Before hunting down the Lord of Terror himself, Tyrael asked the Sorceress for a favour. Had she happen to met Izual, the fallen angel who's spirit was trapped in demonic body, she was to end his torment and put his spirit to rest. Sora agreed and went out to the Outer Steppes to battle Diablo minions.
Soon, Sora walked into Plains of Despair, her senses sharpened and in caution. Word said that Rakanoth, the Lord of Despair rules over this land. Sora didn't met him, but has found Izual instead. The angel trapped into demonic body attacked the sorceress in fury. Sora ordered Ahsab, her mercenary, to distract the creature, while she prepared the death from above.
Izual's demonic body endured many fiery meteors, but eventually it gave up. After the battle, Sora has spoken to the spirit of Tyrael's former comrade and she found out Izual truly deserved suffering he felt and even more. It was he who instructed Prime Evils of the soulstone and how to corrupt them. Tyrael was devastated by the news, but as a token of his gratidude, he enhaced Sora's abillities with summoning meteors and blizzards.
Sora fought her way throught City of the Damned and went down to the River of Flames in Realm of Destruction. According to Cain, hellforge should be near and it could be used to destroy Mephisto's soulstone. Treating fiery minions of hell with cold blizzard, the sorceress found her way to the hellforge and encountered Hephasto the Armorer, an overlord demon. He wasn't very fond of cold. And in cold, he died. Sora used the demon's hammer to smash the soulstone, banishing Mephistot to the abyss.
The time has come to hunt Diablo himself, in the Chaos Sanctuary. While on her way, Sora met the projection of angel Hadriel, who told the sorceress how to face Diablo. She would need to open five seals for the Lord of Terror to face her. Could it be that Diablo himself fears her at this point? Sora hoped so. The satisfaction of being feared by Lord of Terror himself, and then killing him made Sora smile for the first time since forever.
Diablo's minions weren't very fond of Cold, even his champions who were guarding the seals. But eventually, each seal was broken and Diablo was forced to show himself. The battle has began. The spells of one of the Prime Evils were powerfull, but easier to dodge than Mephisto's. Sora decided to combat fire with fire, and unleashed rain of meteors on the Lord of Terror. The battle was long and cost Ashab his life, but Sorceress eventually triumphed. The Lord of Terror proved to be powerless before her... now, only one Prime Evil remained. Baal... But where was he?
Tyrael already know the answer. Baal invaded Mount Arreat, to claim what was hidden inside the holy mountain. It was the Worldstone, and artifact that was used to create this world and conceal it from both Heavens and Hell. Baal cannot be let to corrupt the stone. The Archangel opened the portal for both Cain and Sora and throught it, they arrived in Harrogath.
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After their arrival, both Cain and Sora weren't greated by barbarians very warmly and were met with distrust from all of them but Malah, the healer. The elderly woman told them that the best way to gaing barbarian's trust was throught their actions. The City was protected by druidic spell cast by the Elder Council, with Nihtlahtak being sole survivor of it. But the city was still under siege, and barbarian warriors, who were fighting outside of the city were bombarded by siege machines. Sora was told by Larzuk, the blacksmith, about Shenk the Overseer, who was commanding the siege. His death could break it and scatter the army around Harrogath. Sora decided to kill the filthy monster.
And she did without shed of mercy.
In the meantime I did some experience runs and decided to restet stats and attributes on my character. Thunderstorm was far too dissapointing as a skill, so I decided to invest in Lightning instead.
Then, Sora countined to chase after Baal, killing all of his minions that dared to stand in her way and helping out Barbarians in the process. Acts like these allowed her to gain trust of barbarian society. That was feat in itself, as the Children of Bul-Katos were able to barely put up with magicks, even in hands of their allies. When Sora returned to Harrogath via Horadric Waypoint to rest and gain some strength, she heard about Anya who went missing after argument with Nihlathak. That was very suspicious, but the Elder claimed he had nothing to do with it. Nonetheless, he was not trusted with his statement. Sora, Malah and Cain combined some magicks and found out Anya's location - she was
held in the frozen cavers. That was convenient, as Sora needed to go throught them anyways, as a form of shortcut.
After resting for a while, the sorceress head out again. The minions of Baal were specifically chosen to function and fight well in cold north, which meant they were just devastated by Sora's fire spells. Eventually, Sora met half-frozen Anya in the Frozen River and thawed her out using potion she recieved from Malah. The Elder's daughter was very grateful for her rescure and after returning to Harrogath, she told Sora about Nihlathak's betrayal. This fool has proposed a bargain to Baal: the sacred relic, which allowed the Lord of Destruction inside the Mount Arreat in exchange of sparring Harrogath. Making a deal with demon, espcecially one of Prime Evils, was insane - demons weren't know to keep their word.
Sora started tracking down Nihlathak, hoping the bargain was not made yet. If she was lucky, she could take on both Baal and Nihlathak at the same time. Sora found and managed to slay Nihlathak in his temple, but she was too late and the coward still managed to finish
his bargain with Baal. Now, the Lord of Destruction was allowed to enter the Mount Arreat without facing it's guardian spirit of Nephalem. Sora had to return with the bad news, before heading out once again to summit Mount Arreat.
The air was thin, the weather was cold and monster huge in number, but the Sorceress finally made first step on summit of Mount Arreat. Then, she approached the altar she found there, and the spirit of Nephalem started to speak to her. She was to face a trial in battle. And so, the sorceress had to battle with the ancient barbarian spirits of first generation Nephalem: Talic, Korlic and Madawc. Everyone possessed an incredible strength, but Sora managed to outsmart and outmanevour them in battle, using teleport spell and attacking from distance with ice and lightning. Eventually, the ancient spirits were defeated. Neither of them were pleased with how Sora fought - their prejudice towards using magic in battle was still present - but then onetheless allowed the sorceress to enter Mount Arreat and enhanced her abilities before doing so. She was now ready to face the Lord of Destruction. Sora sincerely hoped she wasn't too late.
Going deeper and deeper in the dungeon and killing countless of Baal's minions, the sorceress finally reached the Throne of Destruction. She met Baal there, but he only laughed and send out his minions to kill the sorceress. Then another wave, and another. Eventually, Sora was about to attack the last of Prime Evils, but he laughed again and went throught the portal right behind her. Sora followed him immediately. The demon was cornered, yet he was still laughing. That was disturbing.
Sora met Baal in combat. Fire against fire and ice against ice. The elementalist sorceress eventually had upper hand in battle, and Baal teleported away to create copy of himself. The copy wasn't strong, however, as Baal's main body was already weak and heavily injured. The lord of Destruction has fallen soon after, his dying scream filling the Worldstone Keep Chamber.
Lol, I described "battle" against Baal much more epic than it actually was. Baal always was lame boss.
Sora didn't have any time to celebrate. Tyrael has appeared, and he brought the grave news. The worldstone was already corrupted, and it has to be destroyed, or else consequences could be very dire. The Archangel thanked the sorceress for everything that she had done, and offered to teleport her and Cain somewhere safe. The duo had no choice but to accept.
Soon, the Worldstone was destroyed in huge explosion, ripping the Mount Arreat to shreds. Hearing that, Sora was devastated. She fought hard to protect these Barbarians, and now they ended up dead or even worse - without purpose in their lives of survivors. If that wasn't enough, Sora felt empty. She hoped that revenge against Prime Evils would make her feel alive again, but it just wasn't so. The hole in her heart could not be healed by act of vengence. Feeling hollow inside, to sorceress went in her way, never to be heard again.
To be contiuned...
...
Immediately in Nightmare difficulty. With easier to write part. Yay!
Before entering Nightmare Difficulty, I grinded some on Baal. He didn't drop anything of value to my character expect for the belt, which gave me nice boost to life. Other than that, he dropped circlet from Naj's set but it wasn't very useful at that point.
After reaching level 46, Sora went on Nightmare Difficulty and cleared Act 1 with ease. Quest 1 was no problem and the Blood Raven ended up dying quickly.
If anyone remembers meme @God send to me there:
The Countess, the Smith. Nothing too special, and no good runes were dropped.
Extra Strong as additional modifier.
Lightning Enchanted as additional modifier.
I did killed Andariel pretty swiftly (static field greately contributed to that, alongside with Andariel's weakness to meteor). She dropped gloves from Orophan set. Those would prove usefull for physical fighters (ranged or not), for casters, not so much. Overall, I had to sell them.I have no screenshots from battle with Andariel for some reasons (I just didn't find them in the folder), but I do have screenshot with my new ACT 2 mercenary.
Then I did some Auntie Andy runs for some items and experience. It was quite good. Among some things, Sora has found new Sorceress Orb with +2 to her skills level, which was a huge boost. But, while those runs, I experienced something utterly unexpected.
Sora teleported into Andariel Chamber and immediately engaged pack of ghoul minons with unique leader. Just typical mini-boss pack. But, the damage from Lightning Enchanted modifier, however, were not. I did managed to drink health potion, but it was not enough. And I was not fast enough for full rejuvenation potion.
Sora died to a ghoul boss pack. Yay.... My characters tends to have a very bad luck against undead opponents... Then again, it was a double-K.O so it wasn't that bad, right?
Right?
Oh, Zaraki. Right. Ffffffffu-.......
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Anyways, I'm little dissapointed. It might have been nightmare difficulty, but Sora still didn't made it later acts of it. Well, maybe I need a break from this game. Maybe don't. Maybe I'll wait until Blizzcon. Maybe not. We'll see, I'll have enough games to play (but I don't feel like continuing my pokemon nuzlocke). I'll probably won't write anything on my playthoughts for some time.
I'll just cheer for Hexxat. You sexy lucky vampire.
The last part came very unexpected, to say the least. I'm very sorry for you! It looks like playing a sorceress on hardcore is difficult.
Sorceress might have low life in comparison to the rest of characters, which may may them look like they're hard characters to play in hardcore mode. But I don't believe so. The truth is, I just made some mistakes. I have not invested in even 1 defensive skill, and energy shield could come in handy. Also, I was caught off-guard and Sora just died. It happens.
Still, Sora died in act I in nightmare, while my best sorceress who died had access to hell difficulty already, but died in ACt 4 Nightmare during Diablo run (I accidentally teleported in the middle of knights (warriors ones), who then proceeded to CENSORED the sorceress with their swords from every direciton possible... That was stupid death and it made me laugh. My roommate too.
I'm waiting for additional updates on Hexxat. And your bard run, I still haven't forgotten about that.
The Act III journey went smoothly. There were no Stygian Dolls neither in the Flayer Dungeon nor in the Sewers.
The Council fight in Travincal was a big one. For the first time in the game, Hexxat had to use multiple Full rejuvenation potions to survive. Eventually, all the demons were defeated.
Fully aware about the danger Stygian Dolls could bring, Hexxat cautiosly went through the Halls on the way to Mephisto. Cloak of Shadows and Mind Blast made those nasty little things fight Kasim and the Shadow Master, not Hexxat.
Several times Hexxat attempted to engage them in melee and actually didn't have any troubles. Maybe Knockback (from the Talon ability) and Flee (from the Rattlecape) helped here. To tell the truth, the Council proved much more dangerous to Hexxat.
Finally, Mephisto. The fight was not different to the one against Duriel.
Mephisto dropped unique Battle Dart, not useful for Hexxat.
Maybe she will visit him more, although the potential danger from Stygian Dolls could mean Hexxat will just continue in the Act IV right away.
Wow, new record. Mephisto on Hell! Beating the game on hell difficulty... Hexxat might just DO IT. Make our dreams come true!
JUST DO IT!
http://gameranx.com/features/id/75768/article/diablo-4-things-we-want-to-see/
Anyway, here's the progress.
The adventure of Hexxat (Hell)
Hexxat paid several visits to Uncle Mephisto, but didn't find anything worthy. It was nice to see a drop of Charged Essence of Hatred, though - not that Hexxat will need an additional respec, just was nice to see this item in the actual game.
So, Hexxat continued into the Act IV and defeated Izual and Hephasto the Armorer there.
The Hell Forge didn't provide a high-level rune:
Both River of Flame and Chaos Sanctuary have TC of 85, so Hexxat will look for items there before actually facing Diablo.
I start my update with Ravenslight's last moment:
And so Nonnahswriter, the sorceress come to life, to avange her sister!
For 'Nah the first hard fight was the one against Coldcrow:
It was a good excercise for Blood Raven.
With the slowing effect of ice blast 'Nah and her new rogue companion had enough time to handle tough opponents like Griswold or The Smith:
'Nah would like to make a Stealth armor before facing Andariel, so she visited the the Countess for runes. From her 4 visits the second:
, and the fourth visit provided the necessary runes:
Some demons in the front of Andariel's lair gave 'Nah the needed experience points to reach level 17, and so she could actually use the Stealth armour in the fight with Andariel.
Andy's minions were eliminated with Nova. 'Nah's rogue friend falled after some seconds against Andy, but 'Nah got the upper hand with creative use of Static field and Ice blast.
Break from the game, my arse.
The faithless
I am without my faith.
I am... I was proud paladin in the serve of Zakarum. Our Order was created to protect and serve Zakarun's priest on their way to spread this religion of theirs, among more.... savage people in savage lands. That was the purpose of paladins... Or, it used to be like it. I was commanded to kill innocent on behalf of "Light". Made me lose faith. Turns out, Zakarumites were more savage than "savages". The entire religion was corrupt, and so, I left and discarded my shield and so-called holy magic. Shield is symbol of Paladin's faith, while the magic is their tool of the light.
I've traveled, seeking way to redeem myself. And so, eventually, I arrived in the rouge encampment. The Sisters of Sightless Eye were in trouble. Their warriors, priests and archers corrupted, and their monastery claimed by the demoness, Andariel. I decided to help.
My first act was to cleanse the den of evil creatures, and it was rather easy task. But I managed to earn the trust of the Rouges. Expect Kashiya's. She demanded further proof of my loyality, and I couldn't blame her. She told me of a champion, who fought Diablo in Tristram, Moreina was her name. She was corrupted first, and right now is desecrating monastery's burial grounds.
Armed with spear, I head out to face the corrupted rouge. She was wast and agile, but three thrusts of my spear was enough to free her of demonic corruption, and of her life.
I returned to the camp. Kashiya was relieved to hear the... not so bad news and even gave me one of her best archers as a companion. The young rouge demonstrated the abillity to enhance her arrows with fire. Impressive.
I've heard from Akara, the Sister's seer, about Deckard Cain the last of the Horadrim. His life was in danger, and I was given opportunity to save it. It was relieving. Saving life, instead of taking it away. Akara told me about the Stone Circle in Stone Field, and of Tree of Infinuss and runes that were the key to use the circle. All to get in Tristram on time. Eventually, after slaying many hell minions in my path, I get to use the scroll and to open the portal to Tristram.
The town was burning and in ruin. Evidently Diablo was already done there. I was forced to kill many enemies - hell minions and former citizens, now turned into undead, alike. Eventually, I made my way to town square, where I saw Cain. He was imprisoned and tortured, starved and in thirst. Yet he was alive. My efforts were worth it. I've saved the elder Horadrim.
It took Cain long time to recover from what he experienced. But when he did, he had much to say. About prince Aidan, Diablo. The Dark Wanderer, who is most likely Diablo himself. Apparently, Andariel is now serving Diablo. There is no telling what Prime Evil is planning to accomplish, but it won't be good and will bring only terror and death. Diablo must be stopped. For that, Andariel shall be slain first, to liberate the Monastery and to open path to the east, where Dark Wanderer went.
The adventure of Hexxat (Hell)
Diablo has fallen!
The fight wasn't difficult, Hexxat gulped one potion of FR during it to restore full mana. At the end of the video I show (once again) the inventory and (this time) skill distribution. Hexxat is of the 81th level, with 75% resist agaisnt everything except for Poison.
Diablo dropped Immortal King's Will. If only Zaraki was here...