Cross Platform Hard Ironman

[Deleted]

Jumping back in, taking a Crimson Rain group and just passed the shaman at 35 mil. Last time around the Torrent Watershed did me in. I'll keep you guys posted.

[djrr]

Finished the Shaman at 35 Million and 2 deaths. Got caught being too aggressive both times. On to the watershed. I hate the Krete.

[fallen]

djrr - Krete are especially dangerous because they are the first enemy you face who is dealing lots of elemental / magical damage. If you struggle to cope in there, consider keeping some Resistance gear, or using Kjartan's Pureflame Shield if you have access.

[tenbsmith]

Good to see others posting here.

@rearick, where is the description of crimson rain? I'd like to take a gander.

djrr, keep us posted.

fallen, thanks for the pointer on the Crete, I may give pureflame shield a bump. Would Piety Ward work?

I'm on the final approach to the shaman with Travellers II, been going slow 'cause life is a bit crazy.

[fallen]

Yes, Piety Ward would also be very effective!

[tenbsmith]

oh, almost forgot, mrsarfa, we're coming for you. (You still playing that group, starting a new group, or taking a break?)

[mrsarfa]

Oct 30, 2014 10:35:34 GMT -5 tenbsmith said:

oh, almost forgot, mrsarfa, we're coming for you. (You still playing that group, starting a new group, or taking a break?)

tenbsmith - Still playing that group. I'm in Brellim Pass atm, ranked 6th on the Classic Hard Amazon Leaderboard with 156.8M points. I did finish Ep. 1 with just that one, completely unnecessary and careless death, but then I promptly died while trying to clear the Red Hill storage basement.   Had I not died that one time in Ep. 1, I would have had over 100M points before biting it in the basement. Died once more when KJ got caught behind enemy lines in the lowland crossroads, so I'm at three deaths. 

I'm toying with starting another group to keep at the Ironman challenge, but the idea of slogging yet again through the hordes of ratkin just makes me tired. I'll probably keep playing with my current group for a while and then give it another shot. 

P.S. - love your avatar!

[tenbsmith]

Quick update, Travelers II defeated the Shaman, collected rewards from the reeve and knight, and after selling excess gear in Oskhold have 49.7 Mil points and 0 deaths.

On to Torrent Watershed.

[Deleted]

Oct 30, 2014 10:21:46 GMT -5 tenbsmith said:

Good to see others posting here.

@rearick, where is the description of crimson rain? I'd like to take a gander.

Here's the link: Crimson Rain It's the group John Robinson has been polishing for a while. It's actually quite liberating to take a group that someone else built and not even worry about tweaking it. I'm enjoying them very much.

Right in the middle of the Temple of the Thirteen at 54.1 mil with 0 deaths. tenbsmith I'm guessing you're slightly ahead of me because even for a ladder group, I can't stand to be completionist through the ratkin levels. I just want out as soon as I can.

Coming up on mrsarfa!

[John Robinson]

@rearick tenbsmith

Thanks guys being interested in Crimson Rain it is quite a complement coming from experienced players like you. Once I've completed EP2 A2 I'll publish an "Aftermath"
to discuss what happened, successes, failures, and what I would have done differently.

It is important to remember the plan was made before the recent v2.2.41 movement of talent points at level 8 and 12 so plan accordingly. For example Kyera will no longer need to bank a
talent point at level 17 because now she now gets one at 18. You might also want to double check the math I used to make sure the totals match up.

By the end of EP1 A2 you have spent allot of talent, skill, and attribute points on a solid foundation and a radical change in any overall plan you design will be very difficult resulting in
a group that is not playing to it's strengths. So ask yourself where you want to be when entering Episode 2 Act 1. I was reading the thread about where people end up at the end of Episode 2 Act 2.
It appears to be between level 23 to 27. I usually end up at level 25 by the end of Episode 2 Act 1, so you can see there will be very few points awarded to spend in reaching the level 27 end of Episode 2.
The Leveling Table is a great tool in planning out where and when to allocate your total number of points.

By the time you reach level 25 each character type will have received 12 Attribute points, 17 Talents, and 15 or 20 skill points.  A single character is only as strong as the team. 

We all know some talents have to be "kept ahead" to cope with ever increasing monster levels to remain effective. Laying out a long term plan like Crimson Rain helps me remember this.

[djrr]

Lost a few times to the Krete, but learned a lot so started another group that is now one step from the Shaman and at 22 million.

I see Rearick is at 60 million, so I have a ways to go

Trying a different build with Kyera.  I gave her the staff that you get from the muddy cavern and I liked that.  Put some points into dexterity which helps her dodge and attack with the staff.  Next episode has some great staffs so I am betting that I make it   Also put some into holy retribution, which gives her some punching power from distance.

Vraes is a tank, but I have found that some dexterity really helps his early survivability.  After many attempts I have finally focused on phalanx shield and a 1H sword.  My 2H weapons builds don't seem to turn out well.  Phalanx shield, pureflame shield, warders shield, and dexterity really make archers no issue.  What isn't blocked is dodged and a hit is absorbed by armor.  Lots of 2 or 3 HP hits which are easy to heal after several turns.

Kjartan is focused on Choking Ash and Fireball.  My Immolation builds have always failed, never enough firepower.  Seems the payoff for Firestorm is much better.

Tamilin is focused on deadly intuition and aimed shot.

Maybe I will write the team up in the other thread if they keep having success.

[tenbsmith]

@rearick, you are correct, I was completionist with the Ratikin. My build is also designed to not need to rest after each battle which may help a little. I'm also trying to keep the gold reserve up by not buying potions and not always buying the most expensive gear available.

With Ratkin, I rarely needed to use potions, now I'm dealing with Krete and I've needed to several times. I'm not sure the Krete are that much tougher individually, it may be the combo of water crossings and massed Krete archers with longer range. And, the Krete archers seem difficult to kite; they are willing to stay in place for a turn if I move out of their range.

djrr, it would be interesting to see you write-up the build. I've been wondering about a staff based Kyera who uses retribution for a while. To make that really effective, you may need to focus on either melee or ranged holy damage.

[Deleted]

Well here we are at the end of both a long weekend off and E1A2. My group is cleaning up after a dead baron and planning ahead. 123 mil and 0 deaths. Passed mrsarfa and an unknown contender today to take the top spot on Amazon.

Headed to bed now where I'll undoubtedly have nightmares of dying from ratkin in the cellars or mechanical spiders.

Also, within the past two levels I've basically become a fanboy of the Crimson Rain build I'm using. I'll curb my enthusiasm here but suffice to say this was the easiest time I've ever had at the Gatehouse, Groth, and the Baron by far. Great fun.

[fallen]

@rearick - amazing work! Congrats and +1

[djrr]

Ugh  Made it all the way to the Geraux bridge and then died.  Hate that bridge.  I always mess up there.  One square off or one bad roll and out.  Well, I cracked 70 million and got to #3 on the Amazon board so I guess that was good   Can't stand the Ratkin again for awhile so I think I will finish up the rest of the content I have not seen and then try try again.