EoFF Diablo II again, anyone?

[Flying Mullet]

Diablo II's battle.net ladder is resetting starting next Tuesday morning and the next ladder round will be up Tuesday evening/Wednesday morning.

The Arreat Summit - News (http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/)

I didn't know if anyone has any interest in doing another EoFF DII group once the ladder reset is complete.

Current list of active accounts

Flying Mullet - flyingmullet
Tavrobel - Tavrobel
SeeDRankLou - rlouisw
KoShiatar - KoShiatar
The Fonz - fonzyfonz
Dragonfire - xdragonx425
Chzn8r - Chzn8r
Chunk - xChunkx

[Tavrobel]

Someone needs to stab me in the eye.

But not because of the Ladder Reset. I already knew about that.

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

I might hop on, but my work schedule will be changing a lot over the summer so I'll probably mostly be available later in the night Pacific Time. I'd probably make a Concentration Barbarian or something.

[Flying Mullet]

I'm thinking of playing something different, so I'll probably make Raging_Mulley, a Druid Wearbear.

[Sir Lancealot]

I'll join. You just have to me what times.

[Captain Maxx Power]

I'll probably never touch vanilla D2 ever again.

[Tavrobel]

Yeah, it's pretty bad on Ladder. There's so many bots, literally running all the time. On the plus-side, there's Baal runs all the time in Hell. On the bad side, there's ONLY Baal runs in Hell. I believe there's also a Hell Chaos bot, but it's not very good. GRushes galore all the time, and bots are constantly spamming your ear off with promotional deals. Yeah, thanks for reducing prices 10% after you already hiked them up for the season, you pre-emptive businessmen.

[demondude]

I might join... but I'm kinda peeved I only just got a fire sorceress to level 70 and NOW the ladders resetting.
I'll probably play a whirly barbarian by the way.

[Tavrobel]

Bump!

Anyways, the Ladder successfully reset today. It started around 12 on EST, and finished about 3 PM (three hours ahead of schedule). Accompanied with it was a patch, in the form of 1.12.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
- Patch 1.12
--------------------------------------------------------------------------

Downloadable Installer Support

- If all required Diablo 2 '.MPQ' files are installed on the
hard drive, the game will no longer require the CD to play.

For users that originally performed a 'Full Installation'
and wish to run without the CD, all '.MPQ' files should
be copied from the Diablo 2 CDs to the Diablo 2 directory.
Most users will only need to copy D2Music.mpq from the
Diablo 2 Play CD and/or D2xMusic.mpq from the Lord of
Destruction CD. Mac users will need to copy these music
files and rename them to 'Diablo II Music' and
'Diablo II Expansion Music' respectively.

Anyone who did not perform a 'Full Installation' will need
to re-install from CD again to ultimately play without the CD.
In this case, a 'Full Installation' is required, followed by file
copy step noted above.

Bug Fixes

- Fixed an incompatibility between Rosetta and OpenGL mode on Intel Mac.

Translation: Blizzard has more or less approved a no-CD crack for Diablo II. It's like they are doing the hackers' jobs for them! This also means most current bot systems, maphacks, and third party-releases are now invalidated. Any attempt to use such programs will disconnect you instantly from the game you are in (yes, it does, I've tried it). Otherwise, no real mechanics were changed, unless they stealth-changed large parts of the code. All in all, those bots will be back up in about a week, because there weren't any true changes that would make life more difficult for those who develop third party programs. As a side effect, patching to 1.12 will more or less ruin any mods you have; back-patching will be required to play Median or Dark Alliance or others.

Thus far, I've given away two accounts of mule items (all the bad ones, but not the good items, like Shako). I am currently playing a Poison Necromancer, and accidentally put WAY too many points into Corpse Explosion too early, but it's a minor sacrifice for the sake of pwning at a low level. Good thing Insight and Spirit are cheap. To anyone who is interested in playing on Ladder, now would be the best time to play with each other, since after than, I'll be doing nothing but runs; to those who wish to pursue non-Ladder, I'll still be there to equip you with items.

EDIT: All other, non-patch avoiding problems or known issues are still in existence. Yay. But they did improve the Chat Gem functionality by 150%.

[Captain Maxx Power]

Everyone should just get Titan Quest over Steam or something. It's basically Diablo except in 3D, with added physics and flashy effects. I've been playing it again recently but I'd love to get others into it. Who's with me? Diablo 2.5 ftw. :cool:

[SeeDRankLou]

Yeah, I haven't touched this game in quite a while. Then I started a character last week, and I see the announcement about the ladder reset. So I waited until now. I already started an MF Sorc for item hunting. Once I get her up to speed and get some items, I think I'll start doing the one character I never touched, the Necromancer.

[KoShiatar]

Ladder reset? Crap, goodbye fully-equipped sorcie.
Oh well, I just might join this time. Which realm is it? Please PM me!

[Flying Mullet]

We play on US East. The standard EoFF game is eoff/eoff. I sometimes make a game mulley/mulley and Tav will make a game maxis/maxis. If people want to post their account names I can update my first post so people can add them to their friends list.

EDIT: I'm "home" sick today and I'll be playing this off and on if anyone else is around. I have a Druid Wearbear and a Summoning Necro started(old habits die hard).

[Tavrobel]

I might put off the Poison Necromancer for a while. I may either make an FoHer (for Conviction) or a Frenzy Barbarian. This time, I won't make the mistake of going for Swords.

[KoShiatar]

I think I'll put up a Sorc first.

[Fonzie]

Yeah, I guess I'll play since I've got nothing better to do.

[Flying Mullet]

Okay, there's nothing worse than finding a unique melee weapon, only to find out it's ethereal. Seriously, why bother? :(

[Fonzie]

Once again, I'll be using my old account TheFonz2010.

[KoShiatar]

Account KoShiatar.
How do you find if a certain account is being used or not?

[Flying Mullet]

You can add an account, or friend, with the command "/f a account_name". Then to see who's online, you use the command "/f l".

[Fonzie]

ATTN: My last account expired, so my new account is fonzyfonz.

[Flying Mullet]

*updates list*

[Fonzie]

Feels like I'm the only one playing. xD

[Nominus Experse]

I still play Diablo everyday, but I only play mods.

Vanilla Diablo is a bore.

[Fonzie]

I still play Diablo everyday, but I only play mods.

Vanilla Diablo is a bore.

But I need someone fun to play with. :(

[Tavrobel]

Nominus, have you betrayed the spirit of the Diablo II? ORENJI-KUN would be so disappointed.

We're actually playing this time. I'm not doing runs to get ahead, mostly because my Barbarian needs items, hard.

[demondude]

I'm more fussed about doing Baal runs until I'm strong enough to get to hell, I can get awesome Runes that way.

[SeeDRankLou]

Tav: Baezil's Vortex (http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/exceptional/umaces.shtml), interested?

[Dragonfire]

just started up D2 again... Account name: xdragonx425

[Markus. D]

I heard someone is making a 3d remake of Diablo II on some engine or rather, any sources?

[Tavrobel]

Tav: Baezil's Vortex (http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/items/exceptional/umaces.shtml), interested?

Extremely.

EDIT: Someone tell SRL I stole him a Que Hagan's Mage Plate. NOW.

[Dragonfire]

without chaos runs in hell... this is getting boring quick

[Tavrobel]

The will and ability of real players is measured by how much we DON'T twink and play with others without having to resort to grushing. Why is this night different from all other nights? Because this time, players (mostly me) are making a conscious effort to play with others when they are on, in a party. If I had cared more to get rich quick, I'd have made a Hammerdin.

I've yet to get a /w or a /f m from you, either.

[Khaotic]

For those of you who didn't know/notice the other thread:

Blizzard Entertainment (http://www.blizzard.com/us/splash.html)

Diablo III (http://www.blizzard.com/diablo3/)

[Tavrobel]

Okay, so there's a big giant flaming thing on the page that says Diablo III. And there were various hints dropped by the "picture in the ice" having Hel and Shael. Ohh and the whole "Tyrael is Lost" thing. But that doesn't mean much. I'm so looking forward to Starcraft II when it comes out in 2013, and therefore, following Blizzard's plans, that this game must have an expected release date of 2016. Excellent!

[Fonzie]

Okay, so there's a big giant flaming thing on the page that says Diablo III. And there were various hints dropped by the "picture in the ice" having Hel and Shael. Ohh and the whole "Tyrael is Lost" thing. But that doesn't mean much. I'm so looking forward to Starcraft II when it comes out in 2013, and therefore, following Blizzard's plans, that this game must have an expected release date of 2016. Excellent!

Starcraft = gaysha

Diablo 3 = great justice

[Tavrobel]

Enigma, holla at yo' boy.

http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4298/screenshot001ya7.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img168.imageshack.us/img168/4298/screenshot001ya7.8745248cc6.jpg (http://g.imageshack.us/g.php?h=168&i=screenshot001ya7.jpg)

[Dragonfire]

sigh i got a realm down(I NEED TO MF MORE!) lol =P

[Loony BoB]

When I played multiplayer Baldur's Gate with Danielle, we didn't like it much because you constantly have to wait for other people to have their conversations and/or shopping sprees. How do NPC conversations and shop-going work in Diablo II?

[Tavrobel]

Talk to the NPC, listen to the introduction/quest chat (which can be skipped), and then shop. Everyone can have independent transactions all at the same time, as long as you can click on the NPC. As for vendors themselves, each vendor sells something different, groupwise. For example, an NPC might be able to sell heavy armors and weapons, while another will sell armors for magic casters. One per act will heal you, and another per act has the Gamble function. Easy stuff, not nearly as irritating as it could have been from Blizzard.

[Flying Mullet]

In summary, very little time is spent in town. Only to repot(buy more healing/mana potions) and clear your inventory of stuff(sell, stash).

[Tavrobel]

There's also perming, healing, repairing, transferring items, Crafting, Runewording, synthing, chatting, giving/receiving frees, and setting up duels.

But oddly enough, that's still only about 1/3 of the time.

[Flying Mullet]

Your beginner won't be spending time with half of that, though. :p

[Dragonfire]

For anyone that needs items for classes other than sorceress or paladin (caus i need those) post what u need.... I'll be doin meph runs for awhile, so post what u need and ill hold it for ya.

[Loony BoB]

In summary, very little time is spent in town. Only to repot(buy more healing/mana potions) and clear your inventory of stuff(sell, stash).
The main point I'm getting at is that in BG, I had to sit there watching nothing-ness whenever someone went shopping. I couldn't do anything until she got out of the shop... at least, I think it was that way.

[Flying Mullet]

You don't have to go to town whenever others in your party do. And typically they don't go very often.

[Loony BoB]

Alrighty then. Ordered a couple of copies so Danielle and I can give it a go. :) £5.00 for both of them delivered thanks to GAME. :D

[LunarWeaver]

I was gonna join, but I realized I uninstalled it... for some reason. Then my expansion CD won't work because my CD is just old and crappy at this point.

I wonder if I can just download the ISO. I already have a CD-key. But I'm not sure it will work with a downloaded copy. I guess it has a crack or whatever, even though I don't know how those work :jess:

[Nominus Experse]

Lunar, simply download the ISO and mount it in Daemon Tools Lite with the SecuROM option turned on.

[Tavrobel]

And then upgrade to patch 1.12. LoD should have the two MPQ files that let you play with the official no-CD crack.

[Fonzie]

Yes, everyone is playing again. :choc2:

[Tavrobel]

A new day has dawned for the drill of life spirals out of control. There's nothing stopping us from having our victory.

We'll take you on, World.

[LunarWeaver]

Well, I got the iso and mounted it and put on the SecuRom. At first it wouldn't work, asking for the Expansion disc over and over. Then I unmounted it before putting in the Play disc and it would read it. It gets all the way to the very end, one bar left, and then asks for the Expansion disc all over again. I unmount it, remount, everything, and it won't work. I did this without the patch then after the patch and blah blah. I just don't think it's working.

But you know, I don't think I care. The more I think about it the more I realize I would get sick of it in about 10 seconds. I've just played that game too much. :jess:

[Tavrobel]

I can't imagine how sick of it I must be, then.

[Flying Mullet]

I gained two levels and my druid has enough strength for the full Sigon's Set. Happy times.

[Nominus Experse]

If someone can rush me to Hell sometime, I'll play again.

[Flying Mullet]

Tav or Fonz would probably be more than happy to have someone else in Hell with them. They keep bitching that I'm taking too long to get there.

[Tavrobel]

Yes, I am so happy that I'll delegate the Hell-rush to Fonzie. Mostly because I can't deal with ANY Cold immunes that show up, and there are several that show up in NM.

btw, Mulley said he smelt a BoB and a stunlocked cat. I wonder why.

WISH LIST: Keep all magic Great Hauberks and tier three maces, people in Hell. I recently discovered that Hit Power crafting gives guaranteed ED, and that they work on maces. What a pertinent investment.

[Nominus Experse]

Are we using eoff///trout again?

EDIT: I'm no longer playing vanilla - it's much too dull.

[Dragonfire]

anyone who needs non sorceress non pally items lmk by listing here or msg me in game *xdragonx425

I constantly am doin hell meph runs... so i come across lots of set and unique items.

[Captain Maxx Power]

Are we using eoff///trout again?

EDIT: I'm no longer playing vanilla - it's much too dull.

Ditto. Me and my friends from WoW have been playing Eastern Sun (http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3top.htm) lately. Median (http://modsbylaz.planetdiablo.gamespy.com/) is also very immense and so worth your time.

[Loony BoB]

So it turns out that we also require the LoD expansion to play with you guys (thanks for letting me know :p) so we've ordered those up. In the meantime we've got used to the gameplay and are enjoying ourselves well enough.

Loony_BoB and smittenkitten are the account names, I believe.

[Markus. D]

Median is one of my favorite games ever =]]]

[Tavrobel]

Yeah, I'm waiting until patch .18 comes out for Median. I don't want to keep going with my Druid until I see the changes he has in store. Although, I wish he would keep the idea of creating Uniques from scratch. Also, Gold seems to matter much more when seen in terms of the affix crystals.

[Fonzie]

Tav or Fonz would probably be more than happy to have someone else in Hell with them. They keep bitching that I'm taking too long to get there.

You do take forever though. xD

[Flying Mullet]

That's because I'm enjoying the game rather than rushing. :p

[Tavrobel]

I'm preferential to the high level killing and mass AoE-effects portion of the game, along with the engineering and devising of new character builds and item sets. Just because I'm rewarded with shiny gold and orange objects doesn't mean I can't enjoy the game on the same level as you do, Mulleybear. Killing enemies one-by-one is tedious. Killing enemies twenty-by-twenty is far more superior, and Hell mode spawns the most enemies.

[Nominus Experse]

Are we using eoff///trout again?

EDIT: I'm no longer playing vanilla - it's much too dull.

Ditto. Me and my friends from WoW have been playing Eastern Sun (http://homepage3.nifty.com/miyoshino/es/es3top.htm) lately. Median (http://modsbylaz.planetdiablo.gamespy.com/) is also very immense and so worth your time.
I've beaten both mods with a variety of characters and builds, and have definitely found myself very immersed in both - especially with the extent in which tsuku has added the various Cube recipes.

Although it might be said that being able to tinker with your items is unbalanced, its something that's very fun. I have a level 100 Necromancer that simply obliterates Naruku through Nithalalalalalakakaka's Domain due to the awesomeness of Hell's Gate and Frozen Spear (made mostly awesome by tinkering and lucky rares).

Recently I've been playing the Anti-Balance mod put out by Nefarious. It's quite fun.

What I simply cannot wait for is his upcoming mod Codename: Metalstorm. This mod may as well be a whole other Diablo (Diablo 2.5?) due to the extent in which he and his team have modified the code and character of Diablo II. Hopefully it will be released this year. :monster2:

[Tavrobel]

I'm preferential to Dark Alliance, myself.

Ohh, by the way, I'm out of town until Sunday. Try not to feel bad about yourselves.

[Nominus Experse]

I'm preferential to Dark Alliance, myself.

Ohh, by the way, I'm out of town until Sunday. Try not to feel bad about yourselves.

Have you tried the preview?

The new animations are quite nice.

[Tavrobel]

Yes, the single act pre-beta version with the humongous code edits and 1.10-only playability? Ohh, yes, and it's a wonderful experience. But for me, I've found that solo play tends to be more boring than not, and thus, the easiest way to play multiplayer is LoD. Not to say that the mods are bad, it's just not conducive to my style of play, which is heavily based on support, not self-sufficiency.

[CimminyCricket]

What is this nonsense I hear of Diablo III?

[Dragonfire]

who on here had the druid? msg me in game.... i have some aldurs stuff to unload

[LunarWeaver]

Now I'm sad I deleted these from my computer. All this mod talk shivers my timber.

[Tavrobel]

What is this nonsense I hear of Diablo III?

Yeah, supposedly they announced Diablo III at the Invitational. Coming out in 2016, iirc.

Mulley had a Druid, from what I remember (along with a Lite Sorc, a Summonmancer, and a mess of other builds).

Yes, LunarWeaver. You should shiver from the talk of mods. Also, good name improvement.

[CimminyCricket]

That. Is. Awesome. I IGN'd the thing, and it looks pretty cool.

[Markus. D]

That. Is. Awesome. I IGN'd the thing, and it looks pretty cool.

Diablo III (http://www.diablo3.com) =]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

[demondude]

Diablo 3 will make me buy a better computer.

[Flying Mullet]

Mulley had a Druid, from what I remember (along with a Lite Sorc, a Summonmancer, and a mess of other builds).
Just the three builds. And yes, I'm the one with the Druid.

[KoShiatar]

I'm having troubles with my comp. :( I'm using my boyfriend's laptop and he's got not enough hard disk space to install other stuff. Do you think it could work if I ran the game from my external hard disk with Daemon Tools? I know the latest patch lets you do just that.

[Tavrobel]

It might let you play for a while, but I'm going to guess sooner or later Warden is going to interpret it as malicious. Either way, the game takes up less than 1 GB. However, do remember you need to install the full version of the game, not just Multiplayer-supporting-version in order to play without a CD. You could risk it if you want; from what I remember, Battle.net itself only cares about the CD Key.

So what exactly is wrong with your regular computer? That'd explain why you haven't been on since we started.

[Loony BoB]

We now have LoD! We're still really low level though so uhm. Don't know what we can do about that aside from keep playing, I suppose. What are your levels, anyway?

[Tavrobel]

75 Frenzy Barbarian
84 Orb/Enchantress Sorc
19 Blade Fury Assassin

A plan for a Poison Necro or a different Assassin is in the works.

The only thing you can do besides the full level rush is to keep playing. Since we have a group of people, it should be more fun than otherwise. But in case you are interested, here are the level lists of what I use:
1-15, Tristram runs
15-20, Tomb runs
20-25, Cows
24 or 25, Ancients
25-40 (45), Baal runs
40-70 (75), NM Ancients, NM Baal
75 and on, Hell Ancients, Hell Baal (a multitude of options here)

Or, grush to Hell
1-60, Hell Chaos
60 and on, Hell Baal

Another alternative method: Uber Trist until 80s or 90s

By the way, congratulations! You can now play with everyone else. If you are not at an obscenely high level by the time I get back, I'll play with you. As a note, I recommend that you beat all three modes legitimately (maybe not Hell) before you pursue the power-level methods. Turning the game into one large game mechanics session tends to not fly well in terms of game fun-ness. But then again, you're a real fan of Excel spreadsheets. As it turns out, so am I. For all twelve of my accounts.

[CimminyCricket]

I've been thinking about playing this again, but I'm not sure which I want to play: Vanilla or Median.

Suggestions?

[Tavrobel]

Well, just play Vanilla when people are on online (which should be always), and then switch back to Median when no one is on. It's not hard; Median is fully compatible with patch 1.12. PlugY won't be or just about anything else, but as long as you keep a copy of the patch's mpq from 1.11, 1.12, and the newest version of Median in a separate "patches" folder, you should be fine. Not terribly difficult at all.

[CimminyCricket]

Well, just play Vanilla when people are on online (which should be always), and then switch back to Median when no one is on.

Got it.

[KoShiatar]

So what exactly is wrong with your regular computer? That'd explain why you haven't been on since we started.
First the graphic card got burnt, now it doesn't recognize the hard disk anymore. It broke twice in two weeks. I'm rather pissed.

[Loony BoB]

I'm a level 11 Barbarian and Danielle is a level 10 Sorceress - I just have this bad memory from MMORPG stuff where if we're that low a level and you're that high a level, then it's pointless trying to play with the you guys because we'd get murdered or you'd be bored watching us kill random people. So, uhm, how does that work? D= And nah, we don't really try to power-level in any way. We're just doing random quests at the moment. Just finished that one where you rescue Cain. So we have a fair way to go. =x

[CimminyCricket]

Basically, if they were to play their higher levels with yours, they'd kill everything and walk you through to the quest points. That's about it really. I'm going to Game Stop some time this week, so I'll be on again soon. :cD

[Markus. D]

YouTube - Median 2008 - Khalimgrad Killing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd0pbDmgz8w)

This was nice =]]] My Assassin sucks ;-;

[Tavrobel]

I'm a level 11 Barbarian and Danielle is a level 10 Sorceress... Just finished that one where you rescue Cain. So we have a fair way to go. =x

If you get to level 15 by the time I get back, I'll play with you. I'll try not to kill everything.


Basically, if they were to play their higher levels with yours, they'd kill everything and walk you through to the quest points. That's about it really. I'm going to Game Stop some time this week, so I'll be on again soon. :cD

Excellent. My plan is all coming together.

In addition, the areas that can be played by either high or low levels are not conducive to playing. There's no reason for a higher level to return to an old area, and lower levels can't even access higher level areas, and if they could, they would die instantly. There's also some technical stuff. At best the high levels could either rush you or give you equipment. At worst, since you are both above level nine, you could get PK'd. But no one would do that, unless I felt like being evil. Nominus knows I've done it before.


YouTube - Median 2008 - Khalimgrad Killing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd0pbDmgz8w)

This was nice =]]] My Assassin sucks ;-;

I can't watch it now, but I'm going to guess that's a Blossom Assassin?

[Chibi Youkai]

I'd join you, if it weren't for the time zone differences and the 12-hour work days.

[Tavrobel]

Time is not an issue. I'm serious.

[Loony BoB]

Something like levels 17 & 18 for us two now. We're enjoying it so far.

Is there any way to find out who else is in a game? I mean, I understand that someone by the name of Vaern was on while I was away from my PC and I've no idea who else might be around whenever, so it'd be neat to be able to check.

[Shoeberto]

There's commands you can do while in the lobby to add accounts to your friend's lists, and from there display if they're in a game currently or not. I think if you type /help friends or /help f it'll list the options. It's only in the lobby, though, afaik

[Tavrobel]

First you have to add people to your friends list. Just do /f a name and that person should be added to the list. /f l will bring up the list of people that are on your list in order. Whoever is online will be wherever. Accounts are on the first post; also, only accounts are recognized on the /f l, not character names. So if you added Mar_Yume, it would never list me as being on; but having Tavrobel on your /f l would show me as on.

/help and all other commands are also available when you join a game. Certain lobby commands are limited to there, such as /kick and /ban, and since we don't have a moderated channel, these commands are fully and completely ignorable.

If you don't want to add a person your friend list, but want to know where they are, the command /whereis or /whois will show you where they are. If they are in a public channel, such as DII USA 23, Battle.net will show you that. /w is the shortcut for "whisper" or a private chat. E.g., /whereis charactername will give you a character's location; /whereis *username (with the *) will give you the location of the account.

[Loony BoB]

I was more wanting to get an idea of who was active in the game I was in - but I found that using the Party menu did this nicely.

[Værn]

I'm now a level 16 necromancer =D
I'm paranoid that my minions may soon realize that they're more powerful than I am, and try to overthrow me =(

[Tavrobel]

There is a reason why my skepticism about Diablo as handled by Blizzard is not unfounded. It begins with Diablo I, which was overrun by hacks and a complete incompetence to handle the situation; eventually, Elixirs were continuously hacked and distributed on the realms when possible. Blizzard abandoned the game, and it was nothing but bots and hacks. The only legitimate way to play now is single player.

The next stage begins with Starcraft. Again, they allowed people to go on without really doing anything for a long while. Though bans were distributed that doesn't actually stop anyone from going out and buying the game again; it's only ten bucks for the CD-key, and Brood War is truly unnecessary. The way that EUD triggers was handled by Blizzard was terrible; all that was left was EUD Conditions, and then they somehow managed to screw up Infested Terrans by disabling the "train unit" function. Smart.

Diablo II comes along. Great game. Then 1.10 comes along with good intentions while all the while managing to royally create an incentive to hack MORE. 1.11 just pisses me off some more. The only bright side about 1.10 was the ease of modding that it brought, and yet they still have not nerfed Paladins. Uber Duriel waypoint hack, anyone? Free Brains for all.

Ohh, by the way:
[Release] Version Hack - Play with 1.11b on Closed Realms (http://www.edgeofnowhere.cc/viewtopic.php?t=401541)
Premium Diablo 2 - Version Hack (http://premium.newd2event.net/diablo-2-hacks/other/version-hack)

So I guess we don't need 1.12 anymore. See, this is what happens when you fail to change any game code. Do you want to know WHY I know no code was changed? Because Median still works. If you can, go take a visit to the Diablo II Battle.net forums. Right now. Please don't ever doubt my skepticism ever again. My hopes for Diablo III are negative in the most general way. At first it was just disbelief and indifference, but now it has evolved into full-blown rage. WHY ARE YOU STILL HIRING STAFF BLIZZARD? Two options: this means that they are nowhere near done, or they had an incredibly large walkout, which means DIII is going the way of SC: Ghost. Cool.

/end angry rant

[Madame Adequate]

Why are you getting angry D2 is plenty fun in 1 player, I've played it online like twice ever. I imagine D3 will be great in 1 player as well.

Only good multiplayer roguelikes are the Dark Alliance games, because your buddy can play on the same screen in the same room.

[Dragonfire]

...WHY ARE YOU STILL HIRING STAFF BLIZZARD? Two options: this means that they are nowhere near done, or they had an incredibly large walkout, which means DIII is going the way of SC: Ghost. Cool.


ever hear of flagship studios? AKA the Diablo II development team? The whole team was let go or they quit or something and made their own company called flagship studios, which makes horrible games like hellgate london....etc etc

[Markus. D]

I'm a level 11 Barbarian and Danielle is a level 10 Sorceress... Just finished that one where you rescue Cain. So we have a fair way to go. =x

If you get to level 15 by the time I get back, I'll play with you. I'll try not to kill everything.


Basically, if they were to play their higher levels with yours, they'd kill everything and walk you through to the quest points. That's about it really. I'm going to Game Stop some time this week, so I'll be on again soon. :cD

Excellent. My plan is all coming together.

In addition, the areas that can be played by either high or low levels are not conducive to playing. There's no reason for a higher level to return to an old area, and lower levels can't even access higher level areas, and if they could, they would die instantly. There's also some technical stuff. At best the high levels could either rush you or give you equipment. At worst, since you are both above level nine, you could get PK'd. But no one would do that, unless I felt like being evil. Nominus knows I've done it before.


YouTube - Median 2008 - Khalimgrad Killing (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rd0pbDmgz8w)

This was nice =]]] My Assassin sucks ;-;

I can't watch it now, but I'm going to guess that's a Blossom Assassin?

Wytchwind.

[Tavrobel]

ever hear of flagship studios? AKA the Diablo II development team? The whole team was let go or they quit or something and made their own company called flagship studios, which makes horrible games like hellgate london....etc etc

Yes, I have. However, this all occurred before Diablo III was announced, and by this time, one would expect that the Staff for Diablo III would be more or less complete.

@ MILF, because Blizzard manages to screw everything up, even in single-player.

[Flying Mullet]

Bah, I hopped on for a quick Andy/Trav/Meph run in Nightmare and was so excited when Andy dropped a unique ring. Of course, it was only a Manald Heal. :(

[Tavrobel]

Yeah, she tends to do that to you. It's worse when she drops a Nagelring.

All it leaves you with is a Poisoned Merc and eternal rage.

[Captain Maxx Power]

I don't see why you're still playing this game Tav. All you ever seem to do in this topic is complain about how bad D2/Blizzard is.

[Tavrobel]

It's because I can't stop. That is its most fatal flaw.

[Fonzie]

It's because I can't stop. That is its most fatal flaw.

Being... bad?

[Værn]

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b320/Vaern/untitled-2.jpg
I need to hurry up and get the cube =P
Also, shiny boots. Ethereal + self-repairing =)

[Tavrobel]

Why are you carrying Wirt's Leg around? It only helps you in the Cow Level, and a new one can be gotten from Tristram every game.

No, Fonzie, for being ridiculously good then screwed up by severely stupid managerial decisions. Like patch 1.11 not being done by anyone who worked on the game in the first place. Why release it?

[Fonzie]

Why are you carrying Wirt's Leg around? It only helps you in the Cow Level, and a new one can be gotten from Tristram every game.

No, Fonzie, for being ridiculously good then screwed up by severely stupid managerial decisions. Like patch 1.11 not being done by anyone who worked on the game in the first place. Why release it?

To show that they still view the game as alive to the players?

Edit: Oh yeah, inb4bigreasontoexplainit'snot

[Tavrobel]

To me, patch 1.11 was the admittance that they did view the game as dead. Big giant extra uberquest? No attempt to balance the classes or introduce nerfs/buffs? 10 planned runewords, only 7 activated.

Blizzard only sees the game as alive if it makes money. And sadly enough, that means WoW, and future games that aren't going to be anything more than a graphics update. They have the fanbase, they have the money. Now if they would only stop dicking around and try something that could re-revolutionize the genres; they did it several times before.

[Flying Mullet]

Man, you two need to get a room.

[Dragonfire]

sigh i have a game that will eventually summon a d clone... but i highly doubt my sorc can beat him

[Nominus Experse]

Tav likes these threads, for they then allow him to create a psuedo-Livejournal that's heavily viewed and also geared towards his addiction towards something he loathes.

Poor little Tav.



This is why I play mods only now - what was once a company that was driven by the idea of "gamers making games for gamers" has since dissolved into something somewhat ugly. Modders and such allow the gamer-friendliness and innovation to be once again injected into the age-old game.

In a sense, it could be said that I view the modders as the people that fix what Blizzard eventually messed up.

[Chzn8r]

The change from 1.0x to 1.1x in D2 LOD was pretty significant but not enough to ruin the game as is suggested. It just shifted the balance of power around. Some uber classes got nerfed, others became dominant (Hammerdins...). Some ways of leveling up got nerfed, others were found to replace them. Some gear became old news and lost all value, and new gear became the stuff-to-have. IMO they didn't really need to change it as much as they did. They basically made it so that party play was FORCED if you ever wanted to level up or beat some of the biggest bosses, when that should've always been OPTIONAL. Other than that I have no real complaints - I have played and loved Diablo 2 in many different editions (though mostly in 1.09d and 1.10).

[Flying Mullet]

They basically made it so that party play was FORCED if you ever wanted to level up or beat some of the biggest bosses, when that should've always been OPTIONAL.
Amen. That's always driven me nuts.

[LunarWeaver]

I wonder if immunities will carry over to 3 and make solo play itchy and uncomfortable :jess: But I will hopefully be playing with most of you. I make weak classes that need saving. Martial Arts asn for life.

[Flying Mullet]

I usually end up with a Necro Summoner a some point because they're one of the few that can solo effectively.

[Chzn8r]

I dunno why, but every time (and this is 4 or 5 times) that I get back into a binge of this game, I always start off with a Fury Wolf Druid. Fun character to play and my favorite class overall, but I definitely get stuck trying to solo past mid/late Nightmare, especially since I never have good equipment when starting fresh :(

[Nominus Experse]

I usually end up with a Necro Summoner a some point because they're one of the few that can solo effectively.
Corpse Explosion is something that just wipes out entire areas by itself when maxed, so I too commonly begin with a Necromancer Summoner (AKA Fishymancer, so called after the player Nightfish that originally designed the Corpse Exploding area clearing Necromancer Summoner).

I remember when Baranar's Star was an end-game item.
:monster2:

[Tavrobel]

So we played our first big-group game today. I'm so happy.

[Markus. D]

^^ glad for you Tavrobel~

[smittenkitten]

I like this game. ^__^ I didn't at first but it has grown on me. :)

[Nominus Experse]

I like this game. ^__^ I didn't at first but it has grown on me. :)
You are now in Diablo's clutches.

Not even death can save you from it.

[Fonzie]

I like this game. ^__^ I didn't at first but it has grown on me. :)
You are now in Diablo's clutches.

Not even death can save you from it.

In game, or rl?

[Madame Adequate]

Why are you carrying Wirt's Leg around? It only helps you in the Cow Level, and a new one can be gotten from Tristram every game.

Because... you need it to GET to the Cow Level?

[CimminyCricket]

Why are you carrying Wirt's Leg around? It only helps you in the Cow Level, and a new one can be gotten from Tristram every game.

Because... you need it to GET to the Cow Level?

:bigsmile:

[Chzn8r]

Lol, I just started playing again.

USEast softcore ladder, account name Chzn8r

[Madame Adequate]

Why are you carrying Wirt's Leg around? It only helps you in the Cow Level, and a new one can be gotten from Tristram every game.

Because... you need it to GET to the Cow Level?

:bigsmile:

Uh... and AFTER you've gone to Tristram?

[CimminyCricket]

You can go back. The map resets everytime you enter a new game and the leg will be there again and again.

[Tavrobel]

Lol, I just started playing again.

USEast softcore ladder, account name Chzn8r

Added. I saw you online today, but I was perming, so I didn't bother to let you know.


Uh... and AFTER you've gone to Tristram?

The portrait of a man who clearly has never participated in Cow Runs, and for that I am deeply and sorrowfully envious.

If you don't have a Leg in your inventory, a new one will drop from Wirt's body in Single-Player. I'm pretty sure that even if you do have one, a new one will drop anyways; you just won't be able to pick it up. As Cim said, though Tristram's map doesn't vary, you can still revisit it; for example, Griswold will try to kill you every single time.

And before mentioning only being able to do the Cow level once, this is also untrue. As long as you have killed Baal and have failed to kill the Cow King, you can create a Portal. In multiplayer, as long as you are unpartied and not in the Cow level at the time of the Cow King's death, you will still have the ability to create the Cow level. The truthful conditions for extermination are actually something in between, but as far as I'm concerned, BOTH conditions must be true to preserve your order of steak, five seconds rare. Alternatively, you can make someone else do it and kill the King as many times as you want. You just won't be able to make it yourself.

Also, Hostilities will prevent you from taking the Portal, unless you are already in the Cow level, and have spare TP scrolls.

[CimminyCricket]

I said it reset, not that it would change. xD

[Madame Adequate]

I was unaware that you could go back. I thought it was sealed off once you left! How amusing. You learn every day :bigsmile:

[Chibi Youkai]

As long as you don't kill the king, you can go back.

[Flying Mullet]

So I was teleporting between rooms and the attached screenshot occurs. :Oo:

[LunarWeaver]

GASPEU!.... Mulley uses the mini-map.

[Tavrobel]

As long as you don't kill the king, you can go back.

True only for single player. The mechanics for multiplayer are different, as stated in my previous post. Even if you don't personally kill the King, you can lose the ability to make the level, and you can still go back to the Cow level as long as someone else makes the Portal.


So I was teleporting between rooms and the attached screenshot occurs. :Oo:

Weren't you online for the time I teleported onto the Lava and almost got killed by Balrogs?

@Lunar, he may use the Minimap, but he doesn't use very good hotkeys.

[Dragonfire]

I NEED THE FOLLOWING:

Shaftstop
String of Ears
Stormshield
Griswald SET weapon

msg me in game if u got it *xdragonx425

[Tavrobel]

I believe that Fonzie has a spare set of Strings.

New plan: working on finding an Eth 4Os Scourge. And still wanting tier 3 magic maces, one handed.

[Fonzie]

I have like 3 string of ears.

[Dragonfire]

so lemme get one of those strings.... everyone knows im very good with giving stuff out so no worries ill take care of ya

[Flying Mullet]

I finally got to Hell so I'm able to do my favorite D2 activity in Hell: Countess runs. I don't know why but I immensely enjoy cruising the tower and busting super unique monsters on the way down.

[Markus. D]

xD

[SeeDRankLou]

So, NM Baal runs (not for exp, for Baal mfing) are quite a bit more rewarding that I originally thought. I found 3 of the 4 Aldur's pieces in 2 runs, and I found this beauty, which I didn't even know nm Baal could drop.

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/maddylouis/EoFF/harlequincrest.jpg

It's so pretty.

[Chunk]

Sweet, I just randomly loaded up D2 last week and just cruising along in it =) ... I know I'm fairly new to the forums here and whatnot, but after I saw D3 in the works the ole nostalgia kicked in and had to load DII.

Anyways, I'm on as xChunkx and currently have a summon Necro in NM. (Just starting pretty much)
Never played d2 much either so don't know all the equipment and goodies of the game.

Do you guys setup runs or whatnot throughout the week?

Cheers!

[Flying Mullet]

We don't have scheduled runs per say, it's more of a "Hey, we're on at the same time! What do you want to do today?"

[Khaotic]

Honestly, I'd probably play with you guys again, but thanks to the PM wiping(no idea what that was about) I lost the CD key Cim provided me like a year ago. Hope you guys have fun though.

[Tavrobel]

Poor Khaotic.


So, NM Baal runs (not for exp, for Baal mfing) are quite a bit more rewarding that I originally thought. I found 3 of the 4 Aldur's pieces in 2 runs, and I found this beauty, which I didn't even know nm Baal could drop.

*Shako*

It's so pretty.

He's level 75 in Hell, so there's no reason why he can't drop most stuff. By the way, we hate you for finding one that is close to the highest defense, and also one that is not Eth.

We only really do runs when we feel like it, or when the people online are doing different things. I make it a conscious effort to have characters that can play with others at any level. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. If I'm not playing with you, I'm just screwing around in Hell, getting Exp from monsters to get high enough for crafting.

Also, ISO jewelry:
Cat's Eye
Atma's Scarab (for the Amp)
Highlord's Wrath
Metalgrid (lol, yeah right)
Carrion Wind
BK

[Khaotic]

East or West? It's been awhile.

[Loony BoB]

East.

[Fonzie]

We don't have scheduled runs per say, it's more of a "Hey, we're on at the same time! What do you want to do today?"

Because then people get greedy when good drops occur, and that can split people apart.

So, usually two people at a time is good enough.

[Khaotic]

Alright just going to ask this once before I go and purchase a new one, does anyone have a key they don't use anymore that I could use?

Figured it wouldn't hurt to try and save $20.00 just for some stupid key. :P

[Chzn8r]

Any late-NM act boss or super unique should be able to drop the lower stuff of the elite uniques & sets. Shako from NM Baal is not surprising at all.

Also, lol you can definitely tell Dragonfire is making a PVP Paladin. Though I wouldn't figure on getting Gris' weapon any time soon. The gris weapon/helmet/shield are among the rarest items in the game.

I can't wait until my sorceress is high/far enough along to start MFing again. My favorite pastime :D

[Tavrobel]

Alright just going to ask this once before I go and purchase a new one, does anyone have a key they don't use anymore that I could use?

Figured it wouldn't hurt to try and save $20.00 just for some stupid key. :P

Do you have an LoD one? Try asking Cim again for the one he gave you last time.


Also, lol you can definitely tell Dragonfire is making a PVP Paladin. Though I wouldn't figure on getting Gris' weapon any time soon. The gris weapon/helmet/shield are among the rarest items in the game.

I believe he is making a Wolfbarb for fun. It's something to aspire to, I suppose, and all the DR he can get; of course, it caps at 50%. Based on what is easiest to find, SS and Strings is enough to get 45%, SS and Shaft get 65%, and he can't use any of the helms that give DR (Shako, Rockstopper).

I'm considering remaking Mar_Yume into a regular Trapsin instead of a Bladesin. Also, for some reason, the game seems to like giving me Amazon stuff. So far I have a Titan's, a +1/res/lifeleech Circlet, and supporting armor for a Litezon; no TGod's, though. Meph decided to drop me a non Eth version of Jade Talon, along with Bartuc's, so making a Trapsin would be decently viable. My alternative would be to make a Martial Arts Assassin; the 1.11 armor is decently cheap and gives a wicked sick 45% IAS, combined with the Assassin's already high enough fps attack rate. I jam hotkeys enough as it is. Another alternative would be to make a Throwbarb for fun, and many throwing weapons are considered axes; too bad Double Throw does not carry ED.

[CimminyCricket]

I don't have any at all anymore, they're all in some box at my parents' house. (It feels so good to say I don't live with my parents. xD)

[Tavrobel]

You useless Marine. Go die when you get ganked by a Hydralisk and it uses Nova and Shadow strike on you.
Three different references here. Bonus points if you get them all.

[Khaotic]

Alright just going to ask this once before I go and purchase a new one, does anyone have a key they don't use anymore that I could use?

Figured it wouldn't hurt to try and save $20.00 just for some stupid key. :P

Do you have an LoD one? Try asking Cim again for the one he gave you last time.



Already tried :P I plan on just buying a new one, I'll be playing later today for sure, not sure what I'll be yet though. What classes do we have so far? (don't feel like finding out through all these pages)

[CimminyCricket]

You useless Marine. Go die when you get ganked by a Hydralisk and it uses Nova and Shadow strike on you.
Three different references here. Bonus points if you get them all.

Diablo II? Nova is the Lite Sorc skill, Shadow Strike is the Martial 'Sin and Hydralisk is that asshole fire skill that the Council Members ues on you (also stupid Fire Sorc skill.) Did you really think I'd forget?

[Tavrobel]

I'm using thus far:
Orb/Enchantress Sorceress
Mace Frenzy Barbarian
Blade Fury Assassin (possible conversion to Trapsin in the near or immediate future)
Contemplating: Lightning Amazon, Traps Assassin, Martial Arts Assassin, Poison/Corpse Explosion Necromancer

Mulley:
Lightning Sorceress
Summoner Necromancer
Some kind of Druid (melee)

SRL:
Singing Barbarian
Meteorb Sorceress
Rabies Druid
Summoner Necromancer

Fonzie:
Hammerdin

Dragon:
Meph Sorceress (Fireball Spam? An MF-only build, for sure)
Wolfhowl OSkill Barbarian (Morph)

BoB/Smitten
Some kind of Barbarian
Fire Sorceress

I'm not sure what Choonagezxor is using yet; ImogenHeap is not exactly a descriptive character name, and frankly, neither are any of mine. SRL and Mulley are better at their names. I believe someone else was making a CE Necromancer, but I'm not sure who. Either way, whatever you want to make is fine. I'd probably go one MF character, and then another that you reserve for playing group games (yes, we actually try to play together now).


Diablo II? Nova is the Lite Sorc skill, Shadow Strike is the Martial 'Sin and Hydralisk is that asshole fire skill that the Council Members ues on you (also stupid Fire Sorc skill.) Did you really think I'd forget?

These are all incorrect. None of them involve Diablo II.

Marine: You are a Marine. Go figure.
Hydralisk: Hydralisks defeat Marines in 1v1 using normal conditions in Starcraft.
Nova, Shadow Strike: DotA spells for the Hydralisk model-using hero, Venomancer. Nova should be Poison Nova (which is borrowed from Diablo II anyways).
Arts Sins don't have a skill called Shadow Strike, but they do have Cloak of Shadows, and a slew of fighting skills. The Council Member spell is actually called Hydra, and is a spell of the Sorceress as well (which you mentioned).

[CimminyCricket]

I DON'T PLAY STARCRAFT, YOU CHEATING BASTARD.

Also, I did forget I guess.

[Loony BoB]

I don't even know what 'kind of Barbarian' I am myself. I've put a fair amount on defence lately, though, for what it's worth.

[Khaotic]

K, it's bought, just downloading it now (wow, this is going to take forever, and all I need is the key, how annoying) I should've just went and bought it at a store, oh well. :( point is, i'll be on as soon as its done downloading.

I may be a poison necro, haven't quite decided yet, I guess it mainly depends on how often you guys are playing. I've got some catching up to do though.

[Dragonfire]

Dragon:
Meph Sorceress (Fireball Spam? An MF-only build, for sure)
Wolfhowl OSkill Barbarian (Morph)

actually its a blizz sorc... i made her a generic name caus shes solely an mf sorc that doesnt really get to go out and play with others... i didnt realize at the time that people would mistake DragonfiresSorc (meaning MY sorc) for DragonFireSorc.... big oversight on my part.... but it fun when people in game get confused.

[Tavrobel]

I was under the impression that Meph would fail easiest due to fire attacks. An MF boss-only Sorc should be able to deal with the boss and the surrounding enemies; as such, the Lords (Cold), Council (Lite) carry immunity. Fire is also the best for burst damage, which a boss running MFer should need.

[Khaotic]

I can't connect to east, but I can for west. Go figure. I'll keep messing with it to try and get it to work.

EDIT:

Step 3: Temporary Restrictions:
Please try to connect to all four Battle.net Realms (USEast, USWest, Europe, and Asia). If only one Battle.net Realm is inaccessible to you, then it may just be a temporary connection problem or a temporary restriction. Battle.net access may be temporarily restricted for one of the following reasons:
- Spamming text in the chat channel (often associated with bots)
- Rapidly connecting/disconnecting to Battle.net (often associated with bots)
- Repeated attempts to use an invalid CD-Key
- Repeated use of an incorrect password may lock an account login for your protection
- Repeated use of third-party programs (hacks)
- these include but are not limited to sending bad packets, flooding the server(s), and the use of hack programs

That's gotta be the problem, "This lasts anywhere from 2 minutes to 72 hours."


Guess I gotta wait it out, hopefully it's not too long.

[Dragonfire]

its most likely from entering and leaving games too quickly... were u mfing or something?

[Tavrobel]

I'm guessing that he hadn't even started and couldn't connect.

[CimminyCricket]

How long did it take you to download that thing?

[Dragonfire]

he probably bought a cdkey and its probably banned on useast

[Khaotic]

he probably bought a cdkey and its probably banned on useast

I'm not that stupid.

I bought the official game off the blizzard website, and I got that message the first time I tried logging in. I used bnetdiagtool to see what was wrong and it said my IP was banned, so I have no clue what's going on and I'm just gonna have to wait.

Oddly enough, I can get into any other realm just fine, but the one you guys are on is a no-go, again, showing how bad my luck is. :P

[SeeDRankLou]

Wow....

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/maddylouis/EoFF/wowdrops.jpg

4 uniques and 2 sets.

[Tavrobel]

Pierre Tombale Couant
Magnus'
Isenhart's
Spineripper
Frostburns
Griswold

[CimminyCricket]

Alright, Tav, this is what needs to be done: You need to log off of everything on your computer, turn off your computer and step away. Then, you're going to have to go shower, eat get dressed and go outside. Once there you need to walk around until you see a sports game in action. Join in said sports game action.

Tav, the fact that you were able to name every freaking item there saddens me.

[Fonzie]

Alright, Tav, this is what needs to be done: You need to log off of everything on your computer, turn off your computer and step away. Then, you're going to have to go shower, eat get dressed and go outside. Once there you need to walk around until you see a sports game in action. Join in said sports game action.

Tav, the fact that you were able to name every freaking item there saddens me.

He's worse in game. :(

[CimminyCricket]

That I haven't forgotten. XD

Edit: So, I bought DII and the expansion. As I was opening the box, the familiar feeling of having the motivation for life and everything else to ever exist slowly being drained from my body to the point where the only thing I care about is Diablo II. God dammit.

[Tavrobel]

To those who are interested (most likely BoB), this is what my Excel Spreadsheet looked like for the last season. I was generating an account's worth in a little less than each month. The last three accounts do not have any information, due to me not caring to update at that point. Anyways, color coded, separated by item type, qualities where relevant, and the very painful recording of special properties. Passwords to accounts removed for security purposes. You probably wouldn't be able to figure them out anyways. Also, since this list is outdated, it has been a long time since these characters have actually held the items the sheets say they do. Well, most of them.

[Nominus Experse]

Vanilla is such a dull flavour when eaten for far too long.

[Tavrobel]

Updated ISO list:

Any Unique Amulet with Resistances or Attributes
Rising Sun Amulet
Death's Fathom Dimensional Shard or Occy
Kira's Guardian Tiara
Perfect Sapphires, Amethysts, Rubies
Tir, Ral, Amn; Amulets, magic from level 85 areas and up
Tier 3 magic/rare/unique maces, Scepters
Magic Hellforge Plates, Great Hauberks, Grand Crown, Corona
Magic Demonhide Sash, Spiderweb Sash, War Boots, Myrmidon Boots

Actually this wish list is pretty small.

[CimminyCricket]

Get on and play with me, you butt heads.

Edit: I seriously need someone to make cows, I'm losing my mind right now.

[Værn]

It's telling me that the game name and password don't match right now. eoff/eoff, korrekt?

[Nominus Experse]

It's most likely either eoff///eoff OR eoff///trout

[Værn]

...why trout?

[Dragonfire]

why not?

[CimminyCricket]

It's an old EoFF joke. Some word way back when, was switched with trout to be funny.

[Dragonfire]

Current Mule Bank, lemme know if anyone needs anything... certain things must be traded not given of course.

Jalal's Mane
Vamp Gaze (7/7/20)
Goldwrap
3os Wyrmhide
Trang Shield
Shadow Killer
IK Belt
IK Helm
IK Boots
IK Maul
IK Gloves
Frosties
Magefists
33% ED Jewel
25% Spirit Monarch
Gore Riders
Snowclash
Mahim-Oak Curio Ammy
UNID Titans
Ali Baba
Tal Mask
Manald Rings
Spirit Broad Sword
Viper Magi 25
-3/4 Level Lightning Jewel
Trang Gloves
Soul Drainers
Dracul's
33% War Travs

I might have missed something but just ask in game if you wanna trade or needd something.

EDIT:

NEW ITEMS!!!
43% Travs
Skullders

[Tavrobel]

Yeah, I'm definitely remaking my Assassin into a Meleesin now. The only decision now is whether I should be using the first Charge up skill (which has 1440 ED at level 20, Charge 3), or Phoenix Strike (elemental damage). Also, skill order; there's 5 major skills I need to max out: the two Arts skills, Venom, Claw Mastery, and Shadow Master. Consideration also needs to be given for Fade, Burst of Speed, and Claw Block.

I'll place some dibs on
Tal's Mask (part of Sorc improvement plan)
Gores
IK Helm (my current one has a Pul in it, and I don't want to use up my Hel)
Goldwrap (unless you can find Nosferatu's Coil)
Shadow Killer
Dracul's

What is the defense on your Wyrmhide? Also Fonzie, now you can give me back my Eth Skulder's. There's a better one for you; along with a 43% Trav's. Maybe I'll upload my item list in the near future. Also, what level is your Sorceress, Dragon?

[Chunk]

We don't have scheduled runs per say, it's more of a "Hey, we're on at the same time! What do you want to do today?"

Cool... I'll add names and whatnot.

Cheers!

[CimminyCricket]

So, I've been playing for two days straight. My Necro is finally level 80 and I can't wait to start my Sorc so I can do MF runs. Go me, why the hell did I cave in again? This game. I swear, even after Diablo III comes out, I will still be playing this game. Damn.

[Dragonfire]

check my item list above if you need any thing there to start ur sorc

i need to get off the tal set stuff and get an occy skulders and maybe a shako on my mf sorc..... i need more mf caus im tired of seeing magic and rare shakos, spiderweb sashes, and heraldic shields when im raping meph

[CimminyCricket]

My characters are always fine with what they start out with, as I move up through, they get replaced. I'm cool, thanks though! :cD

[Dragonfire]

no problem... i know u dont like free stuff... but if ever a need for ssomething... ask me first.... ull either get it free or for a good price unlike the con artists in game

[Flying Mullet]

Hey Tav, if you ever craft a mace to your liking and socket it, I found a +26% ed, +2 min dam, +5 energy rare jewel you're welcome to put into it.

[smittenkitten]

That's us at Act IV now. My fire Sorceress Athrial is level 26. I'm using that fire staff mulley gave me the salamander or whatever. I've still got a long way to go for leveling up. I'm finding it hard to get good armour right for my Sorceress. :( My defence is pretty crap but I expected that for a Sorceress

[Khaotic]

Well, I got a reply from Blizzard:

The IP address has warranted a lengthy restriction and will not be able to access Battle.net for up to two weeks.

Pretty much sums it up. I guess I'll see you guys in about..8-10 days or so.:(

[Flying Mullet]

Ouch. :(

And here I was happy because I finally found Tal's Ammy for my lit sorc.

[Tavrobel]

"... warranted a lengthy restriction."

How noble sounding and simultaneously stupid and confusing on so many levels. I guess this is what you get for trying to play their game.

[CimminyCricket]

Tav, you bastard, why weren't you on when I was yesterday? :cP

I have more gems for you, please be on around 1200 my time so I can give them to you.

[Tavrobel]

A) I was online. You just don't have me on your /f l for the account I was on.
B) Shut up.
C) I do not conform to time zones that are not the time zone of the capital of the United States of America. 1200 Hawaii time does not compute, nor will I add the requisite four hours to figure out when I should be on.
D) I don't take orders from you. I will have my gems when I damn well feel like it. Keep bitching. It'll make you turn Japanese, guaranteed.
E) Hydralisk > Marine
F) Shut up.
G) Nice boat.

[Flying Mullet]

1200 Hawaii time does not compute, nor will I add the requisite four hours to figure out when I should be on.
Good thing you won't, since he's more than four hours behind you.

[Tavrobel]

So, Cim if you had bothered to stay on a little longer I would have offered you this Trang Armor I accidentally found. It was on my Runes mule, because I had traded a Sol for it. Very worth it, seeing as I have like, 4 of them.

[CimminyCricket]

I had to get back to work, that was my lunch time and I had taken a nap. This game has been keeping me up at night.

[Flying Mullet]

So I found a stalagmite today that has +3 to fire skills, +1 to fire mastery and a plus to meteor and glacial spike. Of course, it's magical. If only it had been a normal stalagmite, imagine it socketed with Leaf! :love:

[Fonzie]

That's us at Act IV now. My fire Sorceress Athrial is level 26. I'm using that fire staff mulley gave me the salamander or whatever. I've still got a long way to go for leveling up. I'm finding it hard to get good armour right for my Sorceress. :( My defence is pretty crap but I expected that for a Sorceress

Well, if you'd let us give you stuff, you might be going along pretty nicely. :p

[Tavrobel]

I don't think we should violate the pre-Warp Civilization Prime Directive and the rules of First Contact a group of people who are getting their way through Diablo II for the first time. We can wait until Hell to meddle.

[Flying Mullet]

Yes, please wait until Hell to fiddle with their bits.

That sounds so awesome out of context.

EDIT: Fun with crafting:
http://www.geocities.com/chadmonkey/diablo/diablo1.jpg

[smittenkitten]

Yes, please wait until Hell to fiddle with their bits.


You make it sound so dirty. :jokey:

[Chzn8r]

Just reporting in on the fact that I've been playing a bit with Tavro and Mulley lately. Mostly just transfering, but still, they're nice people (gave me some stuff :D) and it's great to have some company while playing :D

[Tavrobel]

There's something wrong with this picture, but I just can't quite figure it out.

http://img246.imageshack.us/img246/7064/screenshot001jn5.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[Madame Adequate]

I finished D2 for the first time a couple days ago! :D Yeah yeah I'm years late shutup xD Now... my pally is gimped for Nightmare. =(

[CimminyCricket]

Tav, just tell us. We'll never figure it out xD

[LunarWeaver]

Hit causes monster to flee always made me cry sour drops of pain.

[Fonzie]

Hit causes monster to flee always made me cry sour drops of pain.


BadRollerSkater [8:16 P.M.]: ready?
tavrobel13 [8:31 P.M.]: no im taking a break noiw
tavrobel13 [8:31 P.M.]: because im fucking pissed
BadRollerSkater [8:31 P.M.]: ?
tavrobel13 [8:31 P.M.]: i spawn a 319% ed mace
tavrobel13 [8:31 P.M.]: but
tavrobel13 [8:31 P.M.]: it also has "hit causes monster to flee 100%"
BadRollerSkater [8:31 P.M.]: ...
BadRollerSkater [8:31 P.M.]: hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahahahahahahahhahhaha
BadRollerSkater [8:32 P.M.]: you have to show me it
Pretty funny imho.

[Dragonfire]

FINALLY!!!!!!

and its 139 def (near perfect)

[SeeDRankLou]

Wow, 2 def points better than mine, cool.

[Tavrobel]

Ohh, come on! Two away from perfect, as well. What is this crap?

Also, lol D2Loader.

[Chzn8r]

I thought Warden was really active right now and it was extremely unsafe to use D2Loader (and any accompanying hacks)... that's just the sentiment I got from browsing hacking forums anyways.

Anyways, you know what's a great program (and I'm sure this is new to none of you) is ATMA, and not because of any of the features except for the DROP CALCULATOR! It's lovely to know, given your MF, exactly who is the most likely to drop the item you're looking for. :choc2:

[Dragonfire]

well according to edgeofnowhere (formerly blizzhackers) everythings fine at the moment... its the only hack site i trust and have had no problems for like 5 years now

worst case scenario... my really good stuff is stashed on other accts than my characters... and i have extra cd-keys ive collected over the years.

[Tavrobel]

Fonzie, a Tristram link (http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=63770&hl=) in case you cared.

The only major problem is that it doesn't show the journey to your friends, Lilith, Uber Izzy, and Uber Dury.

[Flying Mullet]

I love the writing style in that uber link.

Chzn8r, I searched for ATMA, downloaded it, then ran a virus scan on it. It had spyware/viruses in it so I tossed it. :(

[Chzn8r]

ATMA has spyware? Huh, weird. I don't really check for spyware anymore; I've never particularly noticed negative effects of it in my computer history.

So many people swear by ATMA for drop calculations, I dunno why nobody would mention something like "But be wary; ATMA comes with spyware" or something before saying to download it.

As far as viruses go, my virus scanner (which is very thorough) never caught anything when I downloaded or installed it.

ANYWAYS, it's super useful, and I really don't see anything to fear about it.

On the topic at hand: the whole uber Tristram thing will always be a myth to me. It's so far above and beyond anything I'll ever be able to experience in Diablo. Despite the story about the poor player being able to do it, I would not have the right character (or the will, or the timing, or the perseverance) to do it, and I would never feel safe doing it which such equipment anyways. Plus, just to get there is a pain in the ass. Aren't there like a billion steps in between (endlessly hunting for keys, then doing all kinds of steps involving other ubers and body parts, only to get to the Tristram itself).

[Flying Mullet]

Odd. Well if someone has an ATMA exe that they want to share, please let me know. The drop calculator that I've been using is for 1.09, so it's a bit outdated.

[Chzn8r]

GUYS, somebody get on if you can. So far over 9000 (OVER 9000! lol) SOJs sold to merchants. Seems very likely that Uber Diablo could spawn for annihilus. And I have no way to kill him on my own, and I don't want to leave my game since it's obviously good (since I got the message).

edit: though I don't know what happens if one of you helps me. Only one annihilus would spawn and it would be up for grabs.

[Tavrobel]

It'd take someone with absolute skill and a mastery of game mechanics to be able to pull it off. Someone like me, except better at both categories. However, I have been in Tristram before, with my friends from two seasons ago on a Barbarian, casting BO and slicing through with my Swords Frenzy Barb, while my previous season's Lite Sorc could easily contribute to the death and carnage at Tristram (though she has yet to do so).

Could it be that you downloaded ATMA from an untrustworthy source? D2Sector is generally problem free for me, but I don't fill up my Diablo II folder up with unnecessary things as quickly as I used to.

Also, my Assassin pwns things with only 1 skill point into everything. The dilemma however, is whether I should go Phoenix Strike/synergies, or go for Venom/physical. I don't have very good boots, and I'm leaning toward the latter. However, the question even further remains should I choose a specialty as to which skill I should max first.

Phoenix Strike, Lite, Fire
-- Venom, finisher
-- Mastery, finisher
Tiger Strike
-- Claw Mastery, Venom, finisher, Master
-- finisher, Venom, Master, Mastery
-- Venom last, since I plan on having buff IAS and attack at like, 3 frames a second

With Tiger Strike, I could get either Might or Freeze for an alternative source of damage. But the Master should be able to do that, but only if she is high enough, and spawns with decent equipment. With Phoenix, Might would be fairly useless, and Freeze would be my only option. If my AR sucks enough, I could get Aim, but Mastery should suffice. Phoenix Strike offers crowd control, and dual elements, and a way to deal with Physical Immunes. Why did they make the assassin have too many viable options?

Also, we need to find a way to get everyone online at once, so that we could do private Baal runs. SRL and Chzn8r (who I will sometimes refer to as ch00n) we discussing the viability of said runs. We have at least five characters that I know of capable of doing Hell:
My Enchant/Orb and Barb (since you can't make Baal flee in fright)
SRL's Singing Barb for the stunlock
Mulley's Lite Sorc
Fonzie's Hammerdin

I'm not sure where Chz's characters are now, but if I recall his Sorc should be in her 80s, while Dragon's Sorc doesn't seem to do anything past Mephisto; however, the WolfBarb might be able to contribute when he flowers in Hell (by the way, if you need weapons, let me know). And when Cim gets off his lazy bum, his Summoner Necro can tag along (Revives, because Skellies tend to lag). We are still waiting on BawB and StunlockedCat to get to Hell, but again, we are not to violate the Prime Directive.

tl;dr, I need to learn how to play using two computers, or Mulley does, since he HAS two computers. Maybe set up some kind of things where he tapes down his hotkeys and Shift and the Left click so that the Sorc spams Lightning non-stop, while micromanaging either my Sorceress or my Barbarian for uber epic killage. Because I definitely know that my characters are capable of it.

[Dragonfire]

yeah my sorc is solely a meph mf'er... wolf barb can definitely cause some havoc in baal runs once hes ready (and yes i could use a good weapon, i want a griz set weapon caus i can put 4 shael in there for the attack speed, but will settle for something in the meantime)..... i have a hammerdin i was workin on but dont feel like building him up til i have the necessary tools(equipment) to bring him to his full potential.

[CimminyCricket]

I'm still reading that, it's freakin' hilarious.

[Chibi Youkai]

Here's the original site for atma, if anyone's interested. Or at least, as far as I can tell. ATMA (http://atma.diabloii.net/)

[Chzn8r]

As far as doing community Baal runs, my Sorcess can kill in hell if she has somebody to soak up the blows, and currently her mercenary/meatstick only lasts a few seconds at anything outside of Act 1.

My Hammerdin just entered Hell and should be able to solo most things given a bit more gear once he's gotten to the end of hell. I just made a Spirit shield from him (WOW what a cheap runeword!) out of a Protector Shield with 21 native resistance to all. In one fell swoop I solved nearly all of his resistance problems AND gave him more skills, life, mana, and defense :D Currently his hammers are up to about 4.8k at level 69, and I still have a few points to put in Concentration and about 15 to put in Blessed Aim.

As for Uber Diablo, I've been able to kill him in the past with old Druid builds of mine, but there were also times where he'd spawn in a game where I was a Sorceress and I didn't want to leave so I had my friend Jon come in with his Hammerdin. I don't recall traditional Uber Diablo being THAT hard to bring down. Nothing like the horror stories I hear about Uber Mephisto and Uber Baal. I just wish he'd spawned last night :( That SOJ message got me so excited.

[SeeDRankLou]

Poor Hell Ancients

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/maddylouis/EoFF/ancients.jpg

My singing barb is now ready for Hell Ball runs.

[Chunk]

Slowly moving on in the game... I'm currently stuck at Andy act I, in NM. If someone could help me with him it would be much appreciated.

Cheers!

Then i can continue my journey through NM and eventually to Hell

[Chzn8r]

Just found a 192 Skullders, off a plain unique monster while doing a Countess run. I wasn't even wearing my MF gear :p

[SeeDRankLou]

What the hell is this crap?

http://i47.photobucket.com/albums/f155/maddylouis/EoFF/cdkey.jpg

That's my name minus the last letter. I was disconnected from a game, and then turn D2 off to get something to eat, but it's been much more than five minutes.

[Tavrobel]

I've had that happen to me before, but not usually on Diablo II, where in which case, I am simply Realm-downed.

[demondude]

I was dumb and made my character on the european servers. ; (

[Fonzie]

Tavvy, we all know that my Hammerdin can take down any threat. :lol:

[!] Except I die every 5 seconds because of my http://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifhttp://forums.eyesonff.com/images/smilies/rpg_009.gifty resistance.[/!]

[Chzn8r]

COUNTESS DROPPED AN IST COUNTESS DROPPED AN IST IST IST IST IST XD XD XD XD XD

I don't know what to do with it!

I think I'll trade for a Vex if I can. I found a 4os flail and I have Ko and Thul so I'd just need a Pul after that to make a Hoto for my Hammerdin :D :D :D :D :choc2: :choc2: :choc2: :choc2:

[Fonzie]

COUNTESS DROPPED AN IST COUNTESS DROPPED AN IST IST IST IST IST XD XD XD XD XD

I don't know what to do with it!

I think I'll trade for a Vex if I can. I found a 4os flail and I have Ko and Thul so I'd just need a Pul after that to make a Hoto for my Hammerdin :D :D :D :D :choc2: :choc2: :choc2: :choc2:

I hate you soooo much. :mad2:

[Chzn8r]

Update: I got a Pul from my P'din's hellforge. That means I've got

4os flail
2 lums (if I had 1 more I could make a Ko... or I could just get a ko)
Ist and Um (I believe people would take this trade for a Vex, no?). I got the Um in trade for a 15 resistance to all jewel I had sitting around
Thul
Pul

I'M SO CLOSE TO MY OWN HOMEBREW HOTO ON LADDER :D

[Flying Mullet]

Yesterday while I was playing I found an ethereal Dusk Shroud with 630 defense. I used the socket recipe which resulted in an ethereal two socket Dusk Shroud with just under 1000 defense. I threw a Nef and Lum into it and ended up with this beauty:
http://www.geocities.com/chadmonkey/diablo/diablo2.jpg

[Loony BoB]

11 durability on ethereal? Isn't that really bad? D=? I don't understand this stuff.

[Dragonfire]

well his merc can where it caus they dont lose durability

[Flying Mullet]

Yes, it's for my merc. Equipment on a merc doesn't lose durability.

[Nominus Experse]

Or he could use it for a mid-level Dexazon (Bow-wielding Amazon with all points placed in Dexterity, essentially a glass cannon build that never wishes to be hit) or a Trapper Assassin.

There's also a an ethereal repair bug he could exploit, but I doubt Mulley would do it.

[Flying Mullet]

I was hoping to get three sockets out of the recipe and make Duress out of it. But Smoke's not bad either.

[Dragonfire]

NEW WISHLIST:

Highlord's Ammy
Griz weapon (unless i can get a grief phase blade first)
2x Ravens
Verdungo
Good 3os Armor so my barb can have Duress

less important stuff:
P Diamonds
KO
LEM
SHAELS
UM
THUL

[Loony BoB]

I'd be happy with anything that actually makes being a Barbarian easier when dealing with major bosses. Danielle has the easy life of keeping distance from Mr. Diablo and firing in her meteors, while I have to wander up to him, dodge his electric fire attacks which generally kill me in half a second and hack away at him until I die, then run back, grab my kit and repeat. :( It's not easy bein' a Barb in a Barb/Sorc duet.

[Nominus Experse]

Pile on some heavy Lightning and Fire resists along with something that grants the Cannot Be Frozen (alternatively, you can gulp down some Thawing Potions prior to fighting Diablo, as these grant the same CbF along with +50% Cold and +5% Maximum Cold Resists).

The following low-level items grant CbF:


Death's Guard
Sash

Defense: 22 (Base Defense: 2)
Required Level: 6
Durability: 12
8 boxes
Cannot be Frozen
+20 Defense

The Completed Hsarus' Set (Buckler, Belt, Chain Boots) offers:

Attacker Takes Damage of 5
Cannot be Frozen
Lightning Resist +25%
+5 to Max Damage

The Spirit Shroud
Ghost Armor

Defense: 295 (Base Defense: 102-117)
Required Level: 28
Required Strength: 38
Durability: 20
+150% Enhanced Defense
Cannot Be Frozen
+1 To All Skills
Replenish Life +10
Magic Damage Reduced By 7-11 (varies)

Duriel's Shell
Cuirass

Defense: (528-650) - (610-732) (varies)(Base Defense: 188-202)
Required Level: 41
Required Strength: 65
Durability: 150
+160-200% Enhanced Defense (varies)
+ (1.25 Per Character Level) 1-123 Defense (Based On Character Level)
+ (1 Per Character Level) 1-99 To Life (Based On Character Level)
Resist Fire +20%
Resist Lightning +20%
Resist Poison +20%
Resist Cold +50%
Cannot Be Frozen
+15 To Strength

Darksight Helm
Basinet

Defense: (77-273) - (86-282) (varies)(Base Defense: 75-84)
Required Level: 38
Required Strength: 82
Durability: 30
+ (2 Per Character Level) 2-198 Defense (Based On Character Level)
6% Chance To Cast Level 3 Dim Vision When Struck
Level 5 Cloak of Shadows (30 Charges)
Cannot Be Frozen
Fire Resist +20-40% (varies)
5% Mana Stolen Per Hit
-4 To Light Radius

Personally, I would recommend Duriel's Shell.


Diablo's Lightning Storm also causes physical damage, so if you have anything that grants Reduce Damage by x/x% than that will also help increase your length of life.

[Tavrobel]

Good 3os Armor so my barb can have Duress
P Diamonds SHAEL THUL

I think I might be able to help you there. I have a 421 (?) Archon Plate with three sockets. I also have a 1.1k eth Hellforge Plate, but you probably don't care as much about that one. I have plenty of Diamonds, five Shael, and five Thul. I don't have a Gris weapon for you, but the next time we are on together, I can show you my inventory of crafted and held weapons.

@ BoB, I'm afraid a large majority of weapons we might be able to provide you with may compromise your game (big giant words for "I don't think I have anything that fits your level requirements"). I could check so see if anything might suit your interests, but from what I am told, you didn't place many points into a weapon Mastery. Not that you necessarily should, but it would make the game go smoother with an invested weapon plan. But again, I believe I might be crossing the boundaries of interference. However, if you would like, I can provide for you two weapons that are cheap and easy to use, while containing better damage than most weapons for your stage. All you need to be is level 30. If armor is an issue, I can also provide a level of relief; knowing your pain, Barbarians can range from very gear dependent to extremely gear dependent. Depends on your build.

Also, waah, they won't let me call her Stunlock. But I guess the well meaning but highly misunderstood antics of the regular Diablo II and DotA player will go unfortunately rejected by anyone except other Diablo II and DotA players. I'm in despair. The world that exemplifies convenience over a personal foundation of friendliness has left me in despair. Cue the Zetsubou Sensei music.

My wishlist no longer contains Kira's. I have obtained one at the cost of the Keys to Hell. ISO:
Tier 3 Maces and Axes are still in demand, but the demand is much less immediate and forgiving should youneed space for higher-priority items
Ethereal Scourge, four Sockets
Ethereal upped Dusk Shroud/Archon Plate with approximately 450+ base defense, two Sockets
Magic Amulets from level 85 Areas or better, Ral, PAmethyst
Magic Vampirebone Gloves, PRubies, Nef
Magic Hellforge Plates
Equipment that might otherwise be relevant to my interests

EDIT: Nom, I don't think that they are that high of a level yet. From my understanding they only just got to Act V in normal today, after beating Diablo. The only real thing they could use at this point is the Hsarus set, which they should have outgrown already, and Spirit Shroud (although I do have one of those). A Barb/Sorc should be able to cut through stuff, but seeing as this is Ladder, not Single-Player or NL, life should be significantly more difficult.

I've maintained a policy of trying to interfere as little as possible, such as not quoting documentation or possible items until after they have already reached Hell, or any advice at all, as a courtesy for new players (and they truly are new players). I don't want to have to corrupt their souls with mechanics, numbers, and Excel just quite yet. In the future maybe, but for now, I would imagine that most people here should interfere only with things that are potentially available to them that they could have gotten, if they played more often/grinded harder. But since playing more obsessively is not an option, we can only do what we can as observers.

[Nominus Experse]

Ah, I see. Hmm, well, in that case, the only thing that he can do is madly quaff Thawing Potions prior to the fight and hope that Diablo doesn't cast Hellfire and Lightning Storm too much, depending on his resists.

I'm considering joining all of you again with a Blizzard Sorceress or Bone Necromancer.

[Tavrobel]

Ah, I see. Hmm, well, in that case, the only thing that he can do is madly quaff Thawing Potions prior to the fight and hope that Diablo doesn't cast Hellfire and Lightning Storm too much, depending on his resists.

I'm considering joining all of you again with a Blizzard Sorceress or Bone Necromancer.

If you do, I'll be ready to help, as long as you don't try to steal my PRubies again while under level nine. I have some fair Necro stuff, but we're pretty dirt poor. Although I am certain I have a +2 all Necro skills Circlet with res somewhere.