shoppin for AToD

[xeyloderixed]

there's been a lot of discussion in the hardcore forum as to what clvl you need to shop for an Artisan's Tower Shield of Deflecting most efficiently. the relevant numbers are:

Deflecting - lvl 3
Artisan's - lvl 25

now i'm not sure what that means clvl wise. what clvl would one want to be able to shop it quickly, ie the lvl when you can first shop the shield? people say (and i have to agree) that hell charsi is the best woman to buy it from (because you can just open a cow portal near her), but i still need the clvl info.

thanks a lot!

[Orphan]

Tower Shield = qlvl 22

Artisans prefix = alvl 33 (req clvl = 25)
of Deflecting suffix = alvl 11 (req clvl = 8)

When you're shopping, the ilvl of the items will be clvl + 5. In order for a tower shield to have the artisans prefix, it'll need to have an ilvl of at least 44. This means that you'll need to be purchasing tower shields with a character who's level is 39.

Act 1, Act 2, Act 3 and Act 4 normal difficulty are out of the question, but from Act 5 normal and upwards can work. Act 5 normal has it's shopped items ilvl capped at 45, which can actually be pretty useful, as it would mean you could run the vendors with a high level character (possibly with alot of FRW), while still having the ilvl of the items only at 45. Larzuk on normal difficulty can sell tower shields, if I remember correctly.

If you're going to run Charsi on hell, then I would recommend doing it with a lower level character, to restrict the affixes available to it (ideally, clvl 39)

[Arbedark]

I thought Clvl 39 in act 2 was the best possible odds for a AToD?

I remember reading an entire article about LLDing, and how a level 39 assa was the best shopper for stuff. And act 2 nm had the best odds of decent stuff.

I'm prolly wrong. But just wanted to help.

[Pucho]

and where does the 44 come from? you just add the alvls?
For example I'm looking for a Shocking (alvl76) phase blade (qlvl 73) of storms (alvl 34) and if I add the alvlv I get 110, so it means that it's impossible to shop for one?

[Orphan]

I just did a quick check, and it seems that normal larzuk cannot sell a tower shield (or has a very low chance of having one in his inventory), so you probably shouldn't go there.

Act 2 NM is a good choice yes, because Fara can sell it, but there would be no difference shopping there than from Jamella in Act 4, for example, with the exception of convience (which-ever is closer to the waypoint). Charsi on Hell can also sell Tower shields.


Edit:
Pucho, alvl is determined by ilvl and qlvl. In this case, the qlvl of a tower shield is 22, and the highest alvl required is 33 (Artisans prefix). We then run through this equation, with a sample ilvl (we'll use 44, since it's already been worked out):

If (ilvl>99) then {ilvl=99} //False
if (qlvl>ilvl) then {ilvl=qlvl} //False, 22 !> 44
if (magic_lvl>0) then {alvl=ilvl+magic_lvl} //tower shields have no magic_lvl
else
{
if (ilvl<(99-qlvl/2)) //true, 44 < 88
then {alvl=ilvl-qlvl/2} //alvl = 44-22/2 = 33 (since division is done before minus)
else {alvl=2*ilvl-99}//disregard, we didn't need it
}
If (alvl>99) then {alvl=99}

This means that a tower shield with an ilvl of 44 will have an alvl of 33, just enough for the Artisans.


Edit2: In your case, a phase blade with an ilvl of 88 would be enough to get the shocking prefix.

[Pucho]

thanks orphan!
I've copied the equation for future references.

[sorcyone]

My Meteorb just shopped a Chromatic Tower Shield of Deflecting !
Act 1 Hell from Charsi on Asia 1 Ladder SC.
Its a good place to shop since she has many Tower Shields. If you can open the Cow portal you could shop very fast (I can't yet).
28% resist all and I hope Larzuk will give me 2 sockets so 2 pd will give 66 resist all (2 Ums would give 72% resist all along with that massive block).

Surely Chromatic is better than Artisans ?

[Antian]

why bother when you could have an Exile?

[Xenon[XoA]]

AtoD's are far more flexible than exiles. Try putting an exile on a sorci, or a LLD/MLD char, and let us know how that goes. Just because it has multiple hRs in it, doesn't mean its the best choice.

I like charsi for atod shopping, as you can cast the cow portal right next to her - quick in and outs, none of that running to the exit / wp stuff.

It depends on your purpose - Chromatic ToDs only get 2os max (random 1-2 larzuk). They're useful for 2x um'ing as general high block/res shields if base res > 22. But ppl aren't necessarily after resists all the time - and atod's offer that extra socket =)