03-11-2004, 11:28 PM
Time for an update:
Star-Fall hit level 78 yesterday, having spent the last couple days and 8 levels or so running the pits and the Countess. She should easily roll though the end of Act 1 when I pick her up again tomorrow.
After much deliberation, I decided to forget pumping Fade and went the Lightning Sentry route instead. Maxed that and DS first, then Shadow Master, and she's now up to 11 or 12 in Venom. I think that Lightning Sentry was a solid choice for me, though certainly not the one and only best one. 20 LS/20 DS pretty much smokes anything all the way through NM, which eased the pressure on gear until I got to Hell and found some tradeable loot. In Hell, the LS is still substantial, though I expect that by Act IV it will be reserved as a backup for PI's that I can't catch in a Death Sentry blast. Still, the LS is useful all around - at least as useful, IMO, as more Fade would be.
Stats feel a bit spread out, but playable - natural 156 in Str for SS, ~130 Dex for the AR and block, and the rest in Vit. At the moment, that gets me close to 800 life without any investment in life charms. Dex is high, but I'm trying to keep enough AR through that and charms to not be forced to rely on the Angelic Set or a BA merc. The relative lack of Vitality doesn't seem to be a problem to me - as noted by others, this is a pretty defensive build. Methodical play keeps you out of harm's way effectively. I think the last time I died was somewhere in Act 2 NM, despite some speedy runs in Hell.
The gear has been a big part of the fun in this build. I decided to go with the "Other 1H Weapon + Shield" option, as I had expected, so CB/DS/OW and other proc'ing effects are the biggest considerations. But there are so many choices that the build is easy to tune for different tasks and locations. If I strap on the full-on battle gear for questing, I end up with the following...
Weapon: Ethereal BStar - socketed with a PSkull, the 200% AR bonus eliminates the AR problem, though the elemental damage is surprisingly unnoticeable
Helm: Guillaume's - soon to socket with a PTopaz, 35% crushing blow makes this unbeatable
Armor: upped Rattlecage - soon to be socketed with a rare 35% Fire, 8% ResAll jewel
Shield: Stormshield - socketed with a PDiamond because I'm too poor for Um, the DR helps offset my low life
Gloves: Soul Drainers - absolutely killer gloves for the build, the Weaken goes off constantly and really helps keep everyone alive
Boots: Rares w/Resists and MF - OK, but I'm still looking for Gore Riders
Belt: Rare w/Resists and Life - I don't see the need for a String yet
Ammy: Atma's Scarab - nice, though I don't find the Amp triggers enough to really valuable in 1-2 player games, easily replaceable
Rings: Ravenfrost, Rare AR/Resists
What's fun for number crunchers like me is that almost all of that gear can be swapped out in a pretty modular fashion to fit the situation. I can put on Tal's Armor, a Shako, and MF stuff, and get around 400% MF for pit runs if I rely on the merc's Bonehew to give me a couple of DS corpse from Lightning Immunes. If I can get an ethereal Devil Star for Black (I've got the runes) and a Demon Limb, that should ramp up my physical attack nicely for short Pit/Meph runs that I can complete before the Enchant dies. And somewhere between all-MF and all-offense (which is overkill at the moment), I should be able to find a good middle ground that let's me wander around mid-level areas and still keep a decent MF.
Anyway, as others have mentioned, this is a wicked fun character to play, especially when you can get the CB high enough to watch the monsters' hit points evaporate. It's also surprisingly economical. While the gear is mostly pretty specific and requires some light MF'ing and trading to acquire, the two best items - Stormshield and Atma's - really aren't as important as I expected. Rhyme works very nicely for a shield, and any good ammy (especially with big +life to make up for a lack of SS's DR) could take Atma's place in small games. If you have some patience, everything is pretty easily acquired.
Thanks again for the advice - hope to see you on USEast.
Star-Fall hit level 78 yesterday, having spent the last couple days and 8 levels or so running the pits and the Countess. She should easily roll though the end of Act 1 when I pick her up again tomorrow.
After much deliberation, I decided to forget pumping Fade and went the Lightning Sentry route instead. Maxed that and DS first, then Shadow Master, and she's now up to 11 or 12 in Venom. I think that Lightning Sentry was a solid choice for me, though certainly not the one and only best one. 20 LS/20 DS pretty much smokes anything all the way through NM, which eased the pressure on gear until I got to Hell and found some tradeable loot. In Hell, the LS is still substantial, though I expect that by Act IV it will be reserved as a backup for PI's that I can't catch in a Death Sentry blast. Still, the LS is useful all around - at least as useful, IMO, as more Fade would be.
Stats feel a bit spread out, but playable - natural 156 in Str for SS, ~130 Dex for the AR and block, and the rest in Vit. At the moment, that gets me close to 800 life without any investment in life charms. Dex is high, but I'm trying to keep enough AR through that and charms to not be forced to rely on the Angelic Set or a BA merc. The relative lack of Vitality doesn't seem to be a problem to me - as noted by others, this is a pretty defensive build. Methodical play keeps you out of harm's way effectively. I think the last time I died was somewhere in Act 2 NM, despite some speedy runs in Hell.
The gear has been a big part of the fun in this build. I decided to go with the "Other 1H Weapon + Shield" option, as I had expected, so CB/DS/OW and other proc'ing effects are the biggest considerations. But there are so many choices that the build is easy to tune for different tasks and locations. If I strap on the full-on battle gear for questing, I end up with the following...
Weapon: Ethereal BStar - socketed with a PSkull, the 200% AR bonus eliminates the AR problem, though the elemental damage is surprisingly unnoticeable
Helm: Guillaume's - soon to socket with a PTopaz, 35% crushing blow makes this unbeatable
Armor: upped Rattlecage - soon to be socketed with a rare 35% Fire, 8% ResAll jewel
Shield: Stormshield - socketed with a PDiamond because I'm too poor for Um, the DR helps offset my low life
Gloves: Soul Drainers - absolutely killer gloves for the build, the Weaken goes off constantly and really helps keep everyone alive
Boots: Rares w/Resists and MF - OK, but I'm still looking for Gore Riders
Belt: Rare w/Resists and Life - I don't see the need for a String yet
Ammy: Atma's Scarab - nice, though I don't find the Amp triggers enough to really valuable in 1-2 player games, easily replaceable
Rings: Ravenfrost, Rare AR/Resists
What's fun for number crunchers like me is that almost all of that gear can be swapped out in a pretty modular fashion to fit the situation. I can put on Tal's Armor, a Shako, and MF stuff, and get around 400% MF for pit runs if I rely on the merc's Bonehew to give me a couple of DS corpse from Lightning Immunes. If I can get an ethereal Devil Star for Black (I've got the runes) and a Demon Limb, that should ramp up my physical attack nicely for short Pit/Meph runs that I can complete before the Enchant dies. And somewhere between all-MF and all-offense (which is overkill at the moment), I should be able to find a good middle ground that let's me wander around mid-level areas and still keep a decent MF.
Anyway, as others have mentioned, this is a wicked fun character to play, especially when you can get the CB high enough to watch the monsters' hit points evaporate. It's also surprisingly economical. While the gear is mostly pretty specific and requires some light MF'ing and trading to acquire, the two best items - Stormshield and Atma's - really aren't as important as I expected. Rhyme works very nicely for a shield, and any good ammy (especially with big +life to make up for a lack of SS's DR) could take Atma's place in small games. If you have some patience, everything is pretty easily acquired.
Thanks again for the advice - hope to see you on USEast.