Sorc Nihl Runner

[pbcoco]

Yes Yes I know I know. This topic has been talked about it over and over already but one last time. :azn:

Well I want to make a Destruction Key runner. I'm thinking of a sorc cause I like the teleport factor. I know it will be more dangerous but hey this is HC right?

Build: Meteor/Orb with ES.
Skills:
1 in ES
Max TK
Max Orb
Max Meteor
1 in FM
Rest in CM

Stats:
Str - enough for equip
Dex - enough for max block
Vit - Rest
Mana - Min

Equipment:
Helm - Rockstopper (sol)
Ammy - Life Everlasting
Wep - Wizzy (socket?)
Armor - Shaft (sol)
Shield - Whitstan (pdiamond)
Ring 1 - Nature Peace
Ring 2 - Raven (for dex and mana)
Glove - Mage or Trang (depending on resistance)
Boot - Water Walk

Charms:
Resistance and Mana GC

Merc:
Insight Scythe
Iron Pelt (sol)
The Face of Horror (sol)

With this setup,
Max resistance in Hell
70 FCR (bp is 63)
~ 900 life
~ 900 mana
~ 45 PDR

Anything I should change on this build? Accepting all response/criticism. :heart:

Edit: p.s. does Uber Meph have -110 or -125 resistance from his Conviction?

[MoUsE_WiZ]

Why Meteorb when almost everything is CI, and Nihl is frequently FI?

Xey did it very quickly with his light sorc last season.

[pbcoco]

I have a lvl 6x meteorb sorc that I started for Hell Baals but changed my mind and went Orb/TK. Now my meteorb is a nm mule. ^^

If I make a light sorc, do I need infinity to run it cause I don't have one and not planning on getting one.

[MoUsE_WiZ]

Xey was running it waaaaaaaay before he had infinity. Or griffins. Infact he got his griffins running it iirc ^^

[Lord Penguin]

Hrm.. well.. Make sure youre getting 45 pdr(non %.. normal pdr). Looks like youre trying to mix and match with the % type and that wont help very much against the vipers. Otherwise yea.. light sorc if you you must do a sorc.

[MoUsE_WiZ]

Hrm.. well.. Make sure youre getting 45 pdr(non %.. normal pdr). Looks like youre trying to mix and match with the % type and that wont help very much against the vipers. Otherwise yea.. light sorc if you you must do a sorc.

Nah he's got it there, ~20 from the amulet, ~10 from the ring, and 14 from sols, so he's in the 40-50 range.

The % is important too, especially with a sorc, because the CEs do still hurt and %pdr helps there. They're not TOO painful anymore, but when you're doing runs with a sorc there's going to be more bodies from merc kills and what have you, so they'll be somewhat frequent. I'd probably take it a step further and go dwarf over raven (and by probably, I mean that's what I'm going to be wearing on my barb >.>).

[squiggle]

Make a ES/Light sorc imo.

[Still-Xey-Lover]

if you lightning the doods around nihl wont he CE them and kill you though?

[AgentMarth]

^If you have a RIP mod some where on you gear (Nature Peace is a safe bet) any kills that YOU make will not be CE'd by Nihlathak. However, any your Merc makes or any corpses you yourself don't kill, he will be able too.

I still prefer an IK barb for HC Key running. Sol up the helm and armor and get maybe a bit more PDR from somewhere else, then just Leap, Howl, WW your way there, Leap right by Nihlathak, Howl everything away, and Concentrate him to death. It's still fast enough, much safer because you have high life and DR/PDR, and not to fast that you risk getting realm down.

While a sorc would be faster by far, and could do all they keys, my IK Barb did it safe and sound. However, you seem to have thought a good deal and planed out the Sorc quite well, so if you got the skill she should do just fine. Let us know how it works out.

Oh, and why Face of Horror on Merc? I would think Duskdeep Sol'd for the 14 PDR and 15 res would be a bit better idea.

Oh, and Uber Mephy's Conviction is level 20 for -15 res. I think everyone else missed that.

[AnimeCraze]

Just a thought, there is only 3 maps for Halls of Pain (and you can tell which map you are on as soon as you use the way point), and you can read the signs for Halls of Vaught, teleing will not make the run significantly faster. In that case, I would go for a beefier character. Though, I guess you cannot run the countress and summoner in the same run unless you are using a sorc.

[MoUsE_WiZ]

Just a thought, there is only 3 maps for Halls of Pain (and you can tell which map you are on as soon as you use the way point), and you can read the signs for Halls of Vaught, teleing will not make the run significantly faster. In that case, I would go for a beefier character. Though, I guess you cannot run the countress and summoner in the same run unless you are using a sorc.

You can go about twice as fast with a sorc still, it's a short trip, but he's a fast kill so most of the time on a run is still in the trip.

The biggest problem with a sorc really is going TOO fast... I've RD'd doing it with a barb, it's still a very quick run (which is why I'm making another barb to do it this season), but with a barb you have push to get the RD, with a sorc you have to hold off to avoid it.

[pbcoco]

The reason I went with face of horror is for the 50% chance to cast Flee.
Also the merc will be using the lowest dmg insight so I not too worry about him making a kill.
To counter the R/D, I was thinking every 5 Nihl runs, I'll hit summoner and countess.
If I were to make the light sorc, it would be hard to reach the 105 fcr that is needed for them.
For example,
wizzy = 50
glove = 20
Viper = 30
I will need arch or a 10fcr ring.
With this setup, I will lose the 30% DR from shaft and fire asorb from dwarf or dex from raven.

I thank everyone for their comments and I will keep you guys updated on the progress.

[MoUsE_WiZ]

Lightning/CL bps are different anyways.

http://forums.diabloii.net/showthread.php?t=495478

I'd suggest going with Nature's Peace + FCR ring, then wiz/mage of course. I'm not sure why you're so intent on raven... unless you're baaling or something where you might want something against iceblasters it's kind of junk. You don't need CBF, so it's really just a 40 hp 40 mana ring... you can get a bahamut's ring that'll do more for you than that =/

[Lord Penguin]

you can egt the last fcr on an ammy.. now that i think of it youd have to switch gear a bit tho or get a dr amy with fcr..

[MoUsE_WiZ]

you can egt the last fcr on an ammy.. now that i think of it youd have to switch gear a bit tho or get a dr amy with fcr..

Of Life Everlasting is blue only. You can only get 7 on a rare.

Similarily, it and apprentice are suffixes, so no real luck there unless you want to pick up a whole bunch somewhere else.

Neck, hat, and gbane are the 3 big sources of PDR, gbane isn't great on a sorc, and in general hat stats > neck stats, so neck really is the best place.

Dwarf isn't necessary though, just a luxury, it's fine in a ring slot.

Edit: I forgot about the belt because my baba's using dungos, and my sorcs all use tgods when available for gloam protection, but didn't I just trade you an arach? And do I also not see you listing any belt? Use that =p

[pbcoco]

Ok this is how my final equipment setup looks like.

Equipment:
Helm - Rockstopper (sol)
Ammy - Life Everlasting (25 pdr)
Wep - Wizzy (6 str 29 poison resist jewel)
Armor - Shaft (sol)
Shield - Whitstan (pdiamond)
Ring 1 - Nature Peace (7-11 pdr)
Ring 2 - Dwarf
Glove - Eth Magefist
Boot - Aldur Boot
Belt - Tal's

In hell,
Max resistance
At lease 46 pdr
40% DR
Max block
800 life
800 mana

Do you guys thinkg I have enought Life/Mana or should I use BO too?

I will test this out tomorrow if i'm able to get my hands on two missing items (Nature Peace and Shaft).

[AgentMarth]

Looking fine, you shouldn't need BO, but its always nice to have.

Something to mention, try to get Waterwalk's rather than Adlur's. +5 max FR, Dex for block, and up to 65 life.

Since you will also have at least 90 str, try for a Tgods belt.

You going ES/Orb? Or what did you decide in the end.

[pbcoco]

I went with a Es Meteorber. The same build as the first page.

Scratch Tal Belt. I went with Ik Belt instead. For Nihl run, I don't think I will need Light Asorb so I choose Ik Belt instead of Tgod.

The reason I choose Aldur's instead of Waterwalk is for the Fire resist and I don't have a WW too :)

[AgentMarth]

I wouldn't use a ES Meteororb for running Nihla in HC, I'd remake to one pure element, everything around him is CI, and unless you pumped fire, which is sounded like you switch midway, you won't kill him fast enough before something gets you first.

And its the 20 str and 20 vita which can also be nice on Tgods, your res should be maxed without IK, so maybe a Gloom's Trap or something else.

Oh and I forgot to mention last post, try for the 42 FHR BP.

[Socialism]

- switch Shaftstop for Vipermagi because DR% (% damage reduction) applies after DR# (damage reduced by X)

- hit 105% FCR; lose Dwarf Star for 10% fcr +mana +fire/light resist ring

- viper damage is physical, not poison; socket Wizardspike with Ko/Fal/Ist or allres/fhr jewel

- Rockstopper's good for the resists and FHR but once again, DR% applies after DR#, so you could just as well do with a 3 socket SolSolShael plain/circlet of amicae. Alternatively, Shael the Rockstopper so you have massive FHR.

- Aldur's boots are nice, but get Waterwalks since you don't need the strength

- I once had a 25 all res, 20 DR# amulet... I loved it

- Tal's belt is okay; Arachnid's mesh is better! : )

- non-might mercenary has little chance of killing things wielding Insight; alternative- Lawbringer (AmnLemKo) Barbarian with DR# gear (gogo sanctuary!), but honestly, your mercenary will die easily; alternative #2: Flux cold A3 Merc with Glacial Spiking freezey goodness

[MoUsE_WiZ]

- switch Shaftstop for Vipermagi because DR% (% damage reduction) applies after DR# (damage reduced by X)

- hit 105% FCR; lose Dwarf Star for 10% fcr +mana +fire/light resist ring

- viper damage is physical, not poison; socket Wizardspike with Ko/Fal/Ist or allres/fhr jewel

- Rockstopper's good for the resists and FHR but once again, DR% applies after DR#, so you could just as well do with a 3 socket SolSolShael plain/circlet of amicae. Alternatively, Shael the Rockstopper so you have massive FHR.

- Aldur's boots are nice, but get Waterwalks since you don't need the strength

- I once had a 25 all res, 20 DR# amulet... I loved it

- Tal's belt is okay; Arachnid's mesh is better! : )

- non-might mercenary has little chance of killing things wielding Insight; alternative- Lawbringer (AmnLemKo) Barbarian with DR# gear (gogo sanctuary!), but honestly, your mercenary will die easily; alternative #2: Flux cold A3 Merc with Glacial Spiking freezey goodness

DR% is there for the CEs.
Explodie guys make bodies whether you're wearing peace or not.

And WW are lame, 20% RW FTL.

And I had an Echoing Ammy of Life Everlasting last season, I loved it MORE ^^

[Socialism]

DR% is there for the CEs.
Explodie guys make bodies whether you're wearing peace or not.

And WW are lame, 20% RW FTL.

And I had an Echoing Ammy of Life Everlasting last season, I loved it MORE ^^

Kill them first. Not too tough to do with a 105% FCR Fireball with glacial spikes interspersed (he's going Meteorb right?).

I'm a speed freak, but 20% RW only applies in town, anyway. Which sorceress walks through the halls?

I had one of those too. Still prefer 25/20 : )

[MoUsE_WiZ]

Kill them first. Not too tough to do with a 105% FCR Fireball with glacial spikes interspersed (he's going Meteorb right?).
Yes, but taking the time to kill other monsters kind of negates the entire speed gain from having 105% FCR in the first place, no?

I'm a speed freak, but 20% RW only applies in town, anyway. Which sorceress walks through the halls?
Walking > port for getting orb position right.
Walking > port for herding monsters in meteor fire.

If you're not going to walk at all, may as not use PDR gear in the first place... I did many runs without dying with my orb sorc last season without PDR gear doing that. It takes more attention, but there's no real reason to stack PDR with a sorc unless you're planning on doing some moving around without port >.>

Plus moving slow in town is ftl.

I had one of those too. Still prefer 25/20 : )
Were you running with a barb? O_o
+3 howl, +3 bo, +3 shout blows 25% resists out of the water !

[Socialism]

Yes, but taking the time to kill other monsters kind of negates the entire speed gain from having 105% FCR in the first place, no?I'm not inclined to agree, but I haven't done this in a very long time. I'd think that the marginal safety and speed gains of 105% fcr weren't offset too-too much by nailing 2-3 stragglers.

Walking > port for getting orb position right.
Walking > port for herding monsters in meteor fire.
I never felt there was much room to maneuver in Nihlathak's room; there are typically 15-20 rather quick-moving baddies hanging around. My playstyle favoured herding for meteor using teleport and frozen nova whenever I could.

If you're not going to walk at all, may as not use PDR gear in the first place... I did many runs without dying with my orb sorc last season without PDR gear doing that. It takes more attention, but there's no real reason to stack PDR with a sorc unless you're planning on doing some moving around without port >.>

Plus moving slow in town is ftl.


Were you running with a barb? O_o
+3 howl, +3 bo, +3 shout blows 25% resists out of the water !

Well that's a good suggestion most of the time; however, lagspikes, panic, errors will cause inexperienced teleporters to fail/die. Also. In the event that vipers spawn in/very near Nihlathak's room, unless you skip, there's a very good chance you'll get viperclouded while aiming spells. So yes, there's plenty of reason to stack a bit of DR#.

I used a Berserker so Howl was maxed anyway and Shout was pretty useless. Plus, 25/20 could be used on any character with great efficiency; the warcry/DR# was a barb-centric thingie.

[MoUsE_WiZ]

I'm not inclined to agree, but I haven't done this in a very long time. I'd think that the marginal safety and speed gains of 105% fcr weren't offset too-too much by nailing 2-3 stragglers.
The thing is, you're not really gaining speed or safety.
Yes you gain some safety due to having 8fpc, but you lose some by not having DR.
Yes you can run nihl faster, but either way you're running fast enough that you have to artificially slow yourself or get rd'd, there's a reason both of us used a barb... it's a VERY fast run in the first place.


I never felt there was much room to maneuver in Nihlathak's room; there are typically 15-20 rather quick-moving baddies hanging around. My playstyle favoured herding for meteor using teleport and frozen nova whenever I could.
To each their own I guess. I don't recall the last time I used WW on anything, which I don't mind because they're quite tradeable. Ditto treks. I require fast runningness.

In the event that vipers spawn in/very near Nihlathak's room, unless you skip, there's a very good chance you'll get viperclouded while aiming spells.
Aiming, without teleport, is moving, like I said the idea is to NEVER move ^^
I don't disagree with the 1st part though, there's a (more than one, apparently) reason I didn't continue running it with my sorc indefinitely and eventually made a barb.

I used a Berserker so Howl was maxed anyway and Shout was pretty useless.
Ah, fair enough then.
Conc all the way for me.
I would, however, trade my current +2 shapeshifting 25 pdr ammy for either one >.>

[Socialism]

To each their own I guess. I don't recall the last time I used WW on anything, which I don't mind because they're quite tradeable. Ditto treks. I require fast runningness. Haha, me too. The untwinked trapper I played for Call To Arms - Round #1 had 40 Sanders boots + 25 Stealth + 30 Cats Eye + 30 Circlet + ~42 Burst of Speed = 167% faster run/walk (more, actually, since skill r/w applies differently than equipment r/w apparently).

I would, however, trade my current +2 shapeshifting 25 pdr ammy for either one >.>
Ooch ><

I think I might be making a random Blizz/TK mfer just for ****z/giggles (not really planning on making anything else). Gogo from-scratch play!

[pbcoco]

Thanks for everyone comments.
My strategy for Nihl is to stand in the corner and rain down meteor on Nihl while my merc freezes all the monster with his HF aura and any monster that get too close, will get a taste of his The Face of Horror mask (50% chance to Flee) and my Glacial Spike.

FCR:
The reason I did not go with the 105 FCR is because of the sacrifice I would have to make on %DR. Currently, I have 70 FCR which is the bp below and have a decent amount of %DR, extra life, dex, resistance, and str.

Armor:
Choosing the armor was easy. It was either Shaft or Viper for me. Since I was not reaching for the 105 FCR, Shaft FTW.

Rings:
I will go with Nature's Peace for sure and Dwarf. I slap on Dwarf cause I didn't have any other rings to put on. :)

Belt:
This is the hardest part. I didn't go with Arch cause didn't need the 105FCR. I didn't go with Tgod cause, no Lighting Absorb was needed and I didn't have one anyway. So I choose IK Belt for the LR, FR and 25 str to bug on the Belt, Shaft and Aldur on.

Boot:
I went with Aldur's instead of WW cause, FR is nice and I had enough str anyways from IK Belt and Shaft.

Wep + Shield:
Easiest part. Wizzy (6str 29pr jewel) and Whitstan (pdiamond)

Amulet:
25 pdr

Helm:
Rockstopper for the resistances and %DR.

This is how my resistance breaks down.
Quest - 30 Resistance to all
Wizzy - 75 Resistance to all + 29 PR
Whitstan - 19 Resistance to all
Rockstopper ~ 30 Lighting, Fire, Cold Resistance (can't remember the exact numbers)
Belt - 31 Lighting and 28 Fire Resistance.
Boot - 45 Fire Resistance

Cold - 30 + 75+ 19 + 30 = 154 Added some charms to reach 175
Lighting - 30 + 75 + 19 + 30 + 31 = 185
Poison - 30 + 75 + 29 + 19 = 153 Added some charms to reach 175
Fire - 30 + 75 + 19 + 30 + 28 + 45 = 227 (My calculations must be incorrect cause when I check yesterday, this would have been around 185. Maybe I need to re-think this and switch the Aldur to Treks. Too bad all my stats points has be distributed.)

[pbcoco]

Here is the update I promised.

Final equipment:
Helm - Rockstopper (sol)
Wep - Wizzy (29 pr jewel)
Shield - Whitstan (pdiamond)
Glove - Magefist
Armor - Shaft (sol)
Boot - Waterwalk
Ring 1 - Naturepeace
Ring 2 - Dwarf
Amulet - 25 pdr ammy

Skills:
Max Meteor
Max Orb
Max FM
1 in CM
1 in static
17 in TK
1 in ES
And all the prereq.

With this setup, I have no problem killing Nihl and all his minions. I have been using my bo barb for BO. I have not tried this without bo which I will soon after I get my Health and Mana alittle higher. My life is around 800 and mana around 650. Ideal health and mana would be 900 and 800 to do the runs without bo.

I have done over 100 runs and have not had any close call. I can with stand Amp+CE without much damage. Usually I teleport next to Nihl and static til half way and teleport away. At that time, meteor down on him while his minion hit me as much as they want. When nihl is FI, I will kill all his minions first then orb him to death. This is alittle more time consuming but get the job done. Maybe 1 in ever 15 runs, he will be both Fire and Cold Immune.

If I had to do this over again, I would change Rockstopper and Ik belt to Kira and String of Ears.

If anyone has specific question, feel free to pm or whisper me online (*pbcoco).

Thanks for everyone comments and interest.
coco

[MoUsE_WiZ]

FT: +3 cold skills circlet w/ 19 PDR
ISO: BerBerBerJah

^^

[pbcoco]

FT: +3 cold skills circlet w/ 19 PDR
ISO: BerBerBerJah

^^

Fire would be my choice ^^

[Socialism]

Hotspur might be a wiser choice than Aldurs/etc.

Did you find the absorb on Dwarf Star particularly useful? Or would something to the tune of 100+ mana have helped you more?

After trying this out, do you really think energy shield was necessary?

[MoUsE_WiZ]

Hotspur might be a wiser choice than Aldurs/etc.

hrm...Totally.

Now that I think about it, I'd ditch gores on my barb for spurs in this case if not for the fact that he needs RW much, much, more than a sasa for runs to be effective. That, and he really doesn't NEED the extra resist, it'd just be nice... I did plenty last season without them so meh.

But yeah, for a sorc, I can definitely see going with spurs.

[pbcoco]

Hotspur might be a wiser choice than Aldurs/etc.

Did you find the absorb on Dwarf Star particularly useful? Or would something to the tune of 100+ mana have helped you more?

After trying this out, do you really think energy shield was necessary?

First of all, I have started running Nihl without BO. My current life/mana are 752/798. I had one close call due to being amp. Other than that, is fairly safe.

Any boots would do in this stituation. I already have max Fire Resistance.

I did fine Dwarf Star useful since once in a while Nihl will send a exploding guy and after he explode near me, Nihl will hit me with CE. With Dwarf, I can stand there and take the hit.

I thnk ES is necessary because, it is like extra life for me. Also they are many Range attackers and ES asorb most of the damage.

[Socialism]

First of all, I have started running Nihl without BO. My current life/mana are 752/798. I had one close call due to being amp. Other than that, is fairly safe.

Any boots would do in this stituation. I already have max Fire Resistance.

I did fine Dwarf Star useful since once in a while Nihl will send a exploding guy and after he explode near me, Nihl will hit me with CE. With Dwarf, I can stand there and take the hit.

I thnk ES is necessary because, it is like extra life for me. Also they are many Range attackers and ES asorb most of the damage.

By max fire resistance, do you mean 75% or 95%? Hotspur alone will bring you to 90%.

My question about ES was more about the gear choices you made. You have significant physical damage reduced by X gear (~40 or 50 iirc, too lazy to check) and 45% damage reduction, as well as mostly maxxed resists (right?).

Do you feel you take so much damage that ES is necessary, or is it the case that it just makes you a lot more comfortable standing there and tanking stuff?

Some questions regarding efficiency:

On average:
- How many times a run do you drink mana potions?
- How often do you go to town to restock potions?
- Does your mana/ES drop often from any of the attacks down there?

I used to run Nihlathak with a decked out Enigmadin; I never paid any attention to my surroundings and whatnot. :embarassed:

[pbcoco]

By max fire resistance, do you mean 75% or 95%? Hotspur alone will bring you to 90%.

My question about ES was more about the gear choices you made. You have significant physical damage reduced by X gear (~40 or 50 iirc, too lazy to check) and 45% damage reduction, as well as mostly maxxed resists (right?).

Do you feel you take so much damage that ES is necessary, or is it the case that it just makes you a lot more comfortable standing there and tanking stuff?

Some questions regarding efficiency:

On average:
- How many times a run do you drink mana potions?
- How often do you go to town to restock potions?
- Does your mana/ES drop often from any of the attacks down there?

I used to run Nihlathak with a decked out Enigmadin; I never paid any attention to my surroundings and whatnot. :embarassed:

The below information is from me running ~ 45 Nihl without Bo.

I have 75 Max Fire Resistance.

I use ES for most of my Sorc build for the extra life. I haven't tried any Sorc without ES so I'm not too sure. From my experience, I think ES is necessary. From time to time, I have run into mana burn near Nihl and my life dips down pretty low without ES.

How many times a run do you drink mana potions?
It could be anywhere from 0 to 4 mana potions. I drink at most 3 health potion on a crazy run. Never had to run to town for more mana or health pots.

How often do you go to town to restock potions?
I restock potions beginning of every run.

Does your mana/ES drop often from any of the attacks down there?
The only time ES will drop is if i'm AMP or Mana Burn.

I will most likely do a write up when I get a chance.

[PhatTrumpet]

FYI, EShield absorbs damage before physical resistance is taken into account, i.e. Amp has no effect on how quickly you lose mana (Amp merely reduces your physical resistance by 100%).

[pbcoco]

I seem to loose more mana once I'm amp tho.

[pbcoco]

OK Some sad news. I lost the sorc due to Nihl Might + many many cold Archers. I guess it was alittle harder without BO. I will remake her with different gears.