[U. S. East] RuST for Ladder Season Three

[Ax2Grind]

Everyone left from the RUneword Search Thread is hereby requested to rejoin for LSIII. Though the JoTH for U. S. West never finished, and East never started, there were plenty who were willing to play at the time. Several people I know are still here, including Remlin, PNCWD, Selex, Dragon and others still lurking in the shadows (whose forum names I've forgotten and only have their realm names listed on my friend lists).

Obviously, we still wouldn't have enough to consistently play, whether it's because of work or lack of interest in this game, so those with enough of a reputation (post count, psuedomoderator, etc) are welcome to join. Also, making JoTHs on other realms is a good idea, but would have to be done by others as the beginning of the season means concentrating on your prime realm.

Ash, Dave and anyone else are invited to join, as well as others that may have left, temporarily or not, and want a stab at LSIII. Start posting ASAP so we can get this thing set up for Monday.

[Corporeal Ghost]

My annual Summer Sabbatical has ended. I have returned once again to the world of pasty-white nerds staring at a computer screen for hours on end (No offense, my compatriots.). Until school starts sometime later this month, I shall have a fair amount of time on my hands, and may sporadically, or even full-time, attempt to help. I do have other nerdy activities to occupy me, however, so we shall see. Online at the moment and not seeing you, Ax. Perhaps you got another job? Or you finally outpaced my many account names with those of your own? Regardless, I shall donate what my waning, but perhaps newly refreshed, interest in Lord of Destruction allows me to. Don't count on much, but don't count me out, either.

Edit: Typos found. Probably more I missed.

How are the cheating levels. I presume it is too much to hope that they will remain down until someone hits 99, but are they at least temporarily remedied? And from what I'm seeing about new features, people will finally actually face the dreaded Vipers of Massive Fiery Death™ and stop complaining about the pathetic (by comparison) Gloams.

[Remlin]

I'm up for the JoTH. I am on most evenings from around 8 to 10ish EST. PM me or look for me online *Remlin3.

[Ax2Grind]

I'm up for the JoTH. I am on most evenings from around 8 to 10ish EST. PM me or look for me online *Remlin3.

By that time Monday I'll be in nightmare. ;)

Depending on when you get online just post here or we'll start listing our accounts once we create them and get you rushed up to speed. Only you so far, as Corporeal may not play. He doesn't know yet, but this doesn't look too good.

[Remlin]

The problems of working for a living. I don't get home until around 7. I'll keep an eye on this thread.

[Corporeal Ghost]

I think I came across wrong. I will play, I just may not finish. Buncha sh...tuff going on right now. I'll definitely start with ye, though. Do we know what time Monday the reset occurs?

[matatopos]

I'd like to sign in, im more like a weekend warrior but ill try to get in on monday, How would we name the Chars?
I guess Ladder reset will be b4 dawn.
My current acc is *Tlatoani
Let me know if Im in or not

[helvete]

Sign me up too, even though I'm a Norwegian... I'll play some party support character, if I'm allowed... Something to make use of all the drops you guys don't need... My thoughts below:

Summon druid, giving one hell of an oak sage and some meat.
Summon necro, providing amp, decrep and a LOT of meat.
Singer, needing others to kill in the start, but giving the highest level warcries possible.
Avenger, providing conviction and resist auras whenever needed, and doing elemental damage.
Enchantress, if someone else insists on making some sort of summoner, enchanting every minion, merc and character.
Poison necro, cursing foes with lower resist, making other elemental characters hit harder, breaking immunities, and even add very decent meat.

I want to play party support as my first US char, as I don't know if it'll lag, and thus I want in on the fun, but out of the "front line".

[Remlin]

My account for the new season will be Remlin1 (Old season was Remlin3)
I will most likely try for a heavy damage Barb. Unless something else is needed for the party. I have been mostly playing 'distance' chars (Summoner, Sorce, Hammers, etc), I guess it is time to jump into the trenches and smack 'em around by hand.

Ax, I wish I could join you for the full day Monday..but I was on vacation this past week and I don't think they would appreciate a 'sick' call on Monday :mad:

[PhAtMaN]

I'd like to join up, i'll be free all day on monday and tuesday so i can help alot.

Acct will be zerokid666 , and i'd like to be a meteorb sorc

My acct now is xzerokidx , in case any1 needs to get a hold of me.

[helvete]

Umm... can I use the same account as I do on another realm? (the account name, that is..) In that case, put *namdron in your friends list, and I'll join you at whatever channel when the time is upon us.

BTW; I'm reading no other necromancers so far, so I guess i'll go for one. I will not decide on character until I know what builds you others choose, because I want to choose a strong build (one not really dependant on others, but still an invaluable addition to the party). ATM I'm reading a barb, which is gooood because BO allows the whole party to be a LOT more careless with their respective builds. If I'm going necro, I'll have Raise Skeleton maxed by lvl 21 no matter what build I'll aim for, so when BO is ready, there will be no need for more tanks... ever again!

I also prefer physical parties over elementals, but there is always the option of making a novamancer and aim for a "pit owner" to search for socketables and "good TC stuff" (jewels, charms, amulets, rings).

I think this is lookong very good.

BTW... I am unemployed, starting school late this month... I have all the time in the world to play. An' that's jus' what I'm gonna do!

[matatopos]

I'd Like to try a Ltn Sorc with cold as secondary, or maybe a Summonancer. Too bad my 5 week vacation is not until Late September :(
But I hope we're still gamig by then :D

[Corporeal Ghost]

You weekend guys will obviously not be much help in staying on top of the ladder, at least until you catch up enough to hit high level areas with us. So perhaps you could contribute in other ways (I'm thinking equipment). I don't want to exclude you from the group, but if we are realistically making a run at the top of the ladder, we can't stick around and wait for Saturdays to roll around.

On another note, since it seems that at least Ax, Helvete, and (for a while at least) myself will be pretty much full-time ladder runners, we may be able to go for party synergy to help with late-game killing speed. Of course, nothing says we will even be logged on at the same time, and I, for one, need independence from the party. Not to mention we will not keep up with other ladder runners with three person games. Unless we get more people, I'm thinking independent power may be the way to go.

On that note, I was thinking of playing the Brokendin™ (Blessed Hammer). Many will scoff, but I know how to play him from scratch, and he will be a contender later.

Though he is very independent, he isn't much of a party contributor unless others play melee. I don't know what this means to you guys, but I wanted to throw it out there.

One last thing: I believe conviction backed with multiple mono-elemental sorceresses may be the most efficient end-game plan. This, however, means we need at least three people together at all times, and the convictor MUST be present, or the other two are not going to fare so well. If we can achieve the necessary power level, it will even be possible to have our 'weekend warriors' fill up slots in games doing their thing while we hit high experience levels. They would go for magic-find or some such so as not to detract from our experience.

Thoughts? (Sorry for the wordy post, but sometimes it just comes out that way.)


Edit: Forgot to mention, I will likely be using the account "CorporealGhost". I believe the characters all expired, so it should be clean for me. Helvete, I don't think trans-realm accounts are a problem, so long as no one else has taken the name, which I suppose is quite possible.

[PhAtMaN]

On another note, since it seems that at least Ax, Helvete, and (for a while at least) myself will be pretty much full-time ladder runners, we may be able to go for party synergy to help with late-game killing speed. Of course, nothing says we will even be logged on at the same time, and I, for one, need independence from the party. Not to mention we will not keep up with other ladder runners with three person games. Unless we get more people, I'm thinking independent power may be the way to go.

One last thing: I believe conviction backed with multiple mono-elemental sorceresses may be the most efficient end-game plan. This, however, means we need at least three people together at all times, and the convictor MUST be present, or the other two are not going to fare so well. If we can achieve the necessary power level, it will even be possible to have our 'weekend warriors' fill up slots in games doing their thing while we hit high experience levels. They would go for magic-find or some such so as not to detract from our experience.

Thoughts? (Sorry for the wordy post, but sometimes it just comes out that way.)


Edit: Forgot to mention, I will likely be using the account "CorporealGhost". I believe the characters all expired, so it should be clean for me. Helvete, I don't think trans-realm accounts are a problem, so long as no one else has taken the name, which I suppose is quite possible.


I am willing to play as a "full-time ladder runner" with you guys, since i got no school and dont plan on gettin another job for awhile.

Also, if we end up having a conviction pally, then I'd be a blizzard sorc(much more damg than meteorb)

[Corporeal Ghost]

I am willing to play as a "full-time ladder runner" with you guys, since i got no school and dont plan on gettin another job for awhile.

Also, if we end up having a conviction pally, then I'd be a blizzard sorc(much more damg than meteorb)

Right on. We're up to four then, which is probably all we need if we can plan this right. We can even raid other peoples' low level Hell games for added players for added experience in the high level areas. (We're not taking away from them, we're just hitting areas they won't because they are in earlier acts.)

One other thing: I know this may be asking a lot, but if someone's up to the task, an Annihilus/Hellfire charm hunter would certainly be a vast contribution. Assuming we have a couple of people ready to magic-find, it would be pretty easy to pick up the keys for the new one. Annihilus is a bit more random and harder to come by, but if you know the system, it's doable to get multiples within a week or two of getting your character up to snuff to kill the guy, especially if you can leave your PC on overnight. So I ask, A. Does anyone other than the ladder runners know how to hunt Uber Diablo (I know Ax and myself do, but if all goes well, we won't have time), and B. If someone does, would they be willing to?

I also realize that I may be taking this entirely too seriously. A lot of you guys probably just want to have fun on the new ladder and keep whatever you find, which is perfectly fine. Please express how far you want to go in this effort in future posts. Ideally we want several ladder runners (which we have, but more can't hurt), several magic-finders (which we may or may not have, depending on what our 'weekend warriors' feel up to), and some more grueling jobs, namely hunting the Uber Monsters and *shudder* facilitating trades. *IF* We can attain this level of organization, I genuinely believe we have a shot at hitting SOMEWHERE on the ladder, if not the top. If the bots stay down, we'll be in really good shape, but I'm not too hopeful there. Our biggest advantage over bots will be our teamwork.

Once again, do we know what time the ladder resets? Ten or twelve hours can be the difference between trading finds we don't need for usable equipment and not being able to, as well as losing ground in the experience race.


Edit: I seem to remember AO4 saying he would come back for a ladder reset if it happened and he was back online (which he should be by now). Do we have contact information, Ax?

[Dawns_requiem]

Im back and ready for action when the ladder resets, I'll be on west as i was before. My account will be Black---_[}eath, and I've got a question on how were are gonna go about it this time. I was in the last Runeword search and we had are faithful wathombe to help us keep an excel sheet of things tetsed. By the end i rember that someone had a internet program going that we could report to and would store the info that we tested.

Also are we gonna work of the same premises as last time. Im assumign were gonna throw the WOW history out the window this time, but what about the acronyms?

anyway, cant wait to get the band wagon goen.

[Corporeal Ghost]

We're making a ladder run only. Runewords were not server-side only this time, and that means they've already been released to the general public. Here they are: http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=372271

You're welcome to join the run on East, but I don't think that's what you were hoping for.

[Ax2Grind]

Separated by those I remember in the RuST and those that weren't:

Ax2Grind
Corporeal Ghost
Remlin

Matatopos
Helvete
Phatman

So far that's six, and we need around a dozen to ensure we have enough for full games. Also, we're talking about east ladder chase, and not a runeword hunt, so Dawn would have to team with Wathombe, Raskol and anyone else still playing on west.

I can probably say without problem that the easiest build, barring any suprises by Monday, is a Sludgehammer. That tends to be the focus for reaching 99 and that's what I'm going to try yet again. Two Paladins hurling hammers shouldn't be an issue, in fact it should kill twice as quickly. :D

We do need, however, front men to take the brunt of any holes in our plans and defenses, namely melee characters. If Remlin wants a Barbarian he has it, but we'll need at least one other mixer to stir up the battle line. A summoner would be good, too, but that's to be decided tomorrow. Then there's the matter of procedure.

Given I like things white, clean and neat, I'm not necessarily the one to take charge of a situation. This is mostly due to the unreasonable flak I've received in the past due to other decisions that I've made. Because of this I'm less likely to be a Lance Armstrong leveler even though I'm trying to hit 99 ASAP. There's no problem with two people doing that, say both characters who are Sludgehammer builds, but it's a matter of how to get there from here. For instance, it's much more efficient to split up into teams of four to do two different tasks then regroup (act three is a great example, as those forests are damn long), and as such we need to split the hammerdins and evely distribute the melee/summon/casters to make each group effective in their task. If needing to split up further then the more powerful build can team with the melee (hammerdin/frenzier) while a summoner could provide cover for a caster (summonmancer/meteorb). I strongly recommend against splitting up beyond that, even if Blessed Hammer is that powerful. In an eight-player game a few hits can be fatal, so charging into a situation with the thought of superiority is a bad idea. Though dying early in the game isn't disastrous we're practicing for higher levels, where dying can mean the loss of tens of millions of experience and practically bowing out of the race if done too many times.

Anyway, we still need more people and those that have volunteered to formally submit classes and builds. I plan on leveling until it's clear that I'll not make it to 99 first, only then looking at other builds for other purposes (Lightning Fury for cows, Smiter for charm farming, Meteorb for magic-finding - believe it or not I've never played a Sorceress into act four normal :eek: ).

Former RuST members must respond, damn it!

[Corporeal Ghost]

Ax, I'm not entirely sure that we want 8 people constantly working together. One or two people doing Baal Runs (assuming that's our leveling spot of choice) with 6 other people in the game doing whatever they will (other high experience areas, common MF areas, Keyfinding) will power those one or two characters level 99 the fastest. This means, however, that everyone else in the group gets screwed. Though since I only counted four people that seem to want to go full time to the top, this may not be an issue.

Surviving this is another matter, until we start hitting high-end gear.

If more than three or four people want the power experience, it is possible (but not as easy) to 'raid' public games. I did it last ladder season (very late--I was never in the running). I would join a high occupancy game advertising act one and go kill Baal and his minions by myself. The experience was great, as it was not divided 8 ways. And perhaps best of all, I got to keep all of the drops. *IF* we can farm the equipment, might I suggest this as our end-game plan? Yes, it is very easy to die in this manner. It is high-risk, but very high yield. It *MIGHT,* could we refrain from dying, allow us to race any bots that pop up.

Please specify if you would like to be in the ladder race directly, contribute to those racing via other, less time-intensive methods (though I know that's asking a lot, and you won't really get anything back, unless we can develop a reward system after the race ends), or just play for fun. I, for one, would like to race. Fun guys, I've got nothing against you, but I don't think this is the group for you. You're perfectly welcome to tag along, but (I think) that most of the good items and experience will be siphoned off to the racers.

Thoughts?

And anyone besides Ax and myself with ideas, feel free to throw them out there. I know my thinking is often constricted.

[Remlin]

I don't know how much help I can be for the ladder runners. With work (and sleep) I am limited to a couple of hours each night.
I will keep an eye on this thread to see how I can help. Hey, an extra body means more exp.

[Merick]

I'd like to play with you guys.
I'll be playing as much as I can, which should be a lot. I am going to make a wind druid.

*Elevator_Powder

Edit- what account will you be using, ax?

[helvete]

I'll take the job at the morgue, then! Raise some corpses and blow up some others, while using bad language :D

I'll be there to get to hell baalruns, and IF we're up to it, I'll stick online and play my way to 99. Nothing more sexy than a really high lvl character.

BUT I need to know the exact time ladder resets... (we are going from the first minute, right?) I haven't seen that posted yet, but that may be due to me not looking closely enough..

[SalivaMonster]

I'd like to join as an infernal/enchantess sorc. The problem is I've got things in my hand and need 3 days to finish it. Afterwards I can play full time.

*lilith01-*lilith04

[helvete]

15 enchanted skellies and lower resist should be cool...

USeast acc: *namdron

[Locke07]

I know I wasn't with RUST but if you guys need just someone to make the game difficulty harder I am making a Whirl Wind Barb so I can give out BO's so send one back if you can.

[Ax2Grind]

I'm very disappointed in the RuST turnout, and I'm somewhat skeptical of those who haven't been here that long or without noticable backgrounds, but that being said everyone who's responded here is welcome to join the group and we'll see how it turns out. I really hoped some of the long-time members of the forums would've responded, especially since I messaged one or two personally, but I'm not going to complain.

Ladder should be ready to reset any minute, so I'll edit this post with my account and all other information when it's offical.

[Corporeal Ghost]

So far it appears your timing is a bit off, Ax,as Battle.net says we're past the hour by a good fifteen minutes. Anyway, my account will be "CorporealGhost".

[Dawns_requiem]

Well i've decided that i'll join u guys on east. All my west freidns have pretty much stopped playen. I made the account pandasrforever on east, which is the account that i'll be playen on. I hope tyhat the ladder resets soon though...

[helvete]

Well, it's noon over there, and so far no reset....

Anyway, lag wasn't so bad, around 150-200 ms.

Added corporealghost and elevator_powder to f list, noticed elevator_power logged on earlier.

[PhAtMaN]

Is there any channel we should meet in when the ladder resets?

[PhAtMaN]

sry double post

[PhAtMaN]

Looks like ladder is going to reset any minute now(either that or they are shutting down servers to fix rollback bug)...I added you all to my /f list but nobody is on right now. I'll be using the account *zerokid666.

[SalivaMonster]

Looks like ladder is going to reset any minute now(either that or they are shutting down servers to fix rollback bug)...I added you all to my /f list but nobody is on right now. I'll be using the account *zerokid666.

I'm on right now, but it seems its going to be a while before it reset, at least in USE.

*lilith01

[Ax2Grind]

*New2TheGame10, Carousolo on U. S. East currently.

[Ax2Grind]

Thread closed.

[matatopos]

tread closed why?
Despite all my efforts I couldn't log , ill do it fri night. We should do a cooperative account so chars grow faster

[Merick]

It was great how no one told me that everyone was playing in a private game together, and how I didn't figure that out until I was far behind enough to not want to burden you.

[Ax2Grind]

It was great how no one told me that everyone was playing in a private game together, and how I didn't figure that out until I was far behind enough to not want to burden you.

Now you know why the thread is closed. The rest of the group decided not to inform us, so we're still stuck in nightmare. I'm helping CorporealGhost get to hell and you're welcome to tag along. Once you two get set up to Baal I can finally get out of this game.

[Corporeal Ghost]

After all that, it seems I'm the only one who managed to escape the pull of addiction. Best of luck to those of you who are still going. Apologies to Ax for various unintentional screwings of him.