I Hate Gloams.....

[Guest]

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I agree fully with my zoomancer- gloams are the bane of all existance, and
characters should be allowed to smack their mercs.

Wandering throught the Great Swamp (Act 3 Hell), I encounter one. A stream
of lightning comes in from off-screen, and my life is now down to 5%. I
hammer on the 1 to drink a purple pot, but another bolt from offscreen kills
me in a flash.

I ressurect my merc, waypoint over to Act 1 to get some fresh skellies. The
clay golem wanders into a bosspack of zombies, while the merc hangs back for
five minutes, picking his nose with his lance. Since he hasn't been
involved in combat, his aura doesn't even activate, making him completely
useless. A couple more purple pots and six golems later, I start to collect
my army.

Once that's done, I waypoint back to the spider forest and take the long,
winding road back to my corpse. As I cautiously approach the spot where I
was last killed, a bolt of lightning appears and I die.

Back to Act 1, try again. This time I approach my grave with trepidation,
and try to urge my followers forwards. There's a reason they're called
followers- the cowards hide behind me at every opportunity. I try casting a
fire golem half a screen ahead of me- it scurries back behind me like its
tail was on fire (and why would this bother a fire golem, anyway?). As soon
as I get close to my corpse, a bolt of lightning shoots out of nowhere-
sometimes deftly avoided, more often killing me instantly.

After an hour and a half of this, I managed to grab my original corpse, with
practically no help from my minions. Hopefully, I didn't lose any of my
equipment.

I am now officially giving up my search for a head with better mods than +1
to summoning. I've checked every freaking head since Act 2 NM, and it's a
waste of time- I'm getting Larzuk to socket the next scutum I find, and
stuffing it with diamonds.

If anyone wants to make a mod, erase the smegging gloams!! And allow some
decent shields to have more than 2 sockets, while you're at it.

Bah!!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

neithskye wrote:
> I'm not sure that would help. All my chars have max lightning resist,
> and Gloams hurt them badly just the same.
>
> I've never tried it myself but something with Lightning Absorb might
> help, like Thundergod's Vigor War Belt or a Wisp Projector ring.


According to people at the trading channel, TGod is much better
than Wisp for the purpose of absorbing lightning.



> Maxed Dim Vision is also a wonderful thing to have. Cast it at the edge
> of your screen and most things get blinded, except for boss/champ
> types. Even so, it's better to have just the boss shooting at you than
> all of the minions as well.

Yes, DM is worth maxing.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 14:23:16 -0700, "Darren George"
<madalch@starmail.com> wrote:

>I agree fully with my zoomancer- gloams are the bane of all existance, and
>characters should be allowed to smack their mercs.
>
Forgive my ignorance. But what's a gloam?
-
Peter James
Remove AT to reply

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Darren George wrote:
> If anyone wants to make a mod, erase the smegging gloams!! And allow
> some decent shields to have more than 2 sockets, while you're at it.
>
> Bah!!

By the time you reach A3 Hell in HC your resistances MUST be max or nearly.
Heh, I'm nervous if I don't *enter* Hell with maxed resists. To this end,
you need to religiously collect resists charms and other items, and equip
them even at the expense of more "sexy" stuff. Make it a point to hang on
to those 25%+ resists GCs and 10-11% resists SCs and then equip them as
needed.

And also make it a point to try to use as much damage reduction gear as
possible, especially in areas where you know such nasties as the gloams are.

My condolences, but every HC death has a silver lining because you can learn
from it. Figure out what it was about your character/playing style that
allowed the gloams to do you in, and next time, correct it.

Good luck.

--
chainbreaker

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

> By the time you reach A3 Hell in HC your resistances MUST be max or
> nearly. Heh, I'm nervous if I don't *enter* Hell with maxed resists. To
> this end, you need to religiously collect resists charms and other items,
> and equip them even at the expense of more "sexy" stuff. Make it a
> point to hang on to those 25%+ resists GCs and 10-11% resists SCs
> and then equip them as needed.

This is, of course, SC, since I went back for my body a dozen times or so.
But I -have- been hanging on to every resist charm I could find. Where the
hell do you find 25% GCs and 11% SC? The best I've found is 13% on a grand
and 7% on a small (and I've equipped everything above +2% just to get them
positive). I even sold a +3 summoning ammy so I could equip a rare +1
skill/ +10-16%resists one.

I don't twink my characters, and I don't have a character tough enough to
run around any good areas with nothing but MF gear. So advice like "wear a
wisp projector" or "make sure you wear your +25% res charms" borders on the
silly.

Cheers,

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Peter James wrote:
> On Fri, 25 Mar 2005 14:23:16 -0700, "Darren George"
> <madalch@starmail.com> wrote:
>
> > I agree fully with my zoomancer- gloams are the bane of all
> > existance, and characters should be allowed to smack their mercs.
> >
> Forgive my ignorance. But what's a gloam?

http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/monsters/act3-willowisp.shtml

They are usually close to invisible and shoot lightning bolts at you.
They can usually be found in The Great Marsh (act 3) and in the Plains
of Despair (act 4). Since 1.10 they appear in World Stone Keep (act 5)
in nightmare and hell difficulties, too.

--
AGD2 FAQ: http://www.gunde.de/diablo2/agd2faq.html

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

"chainbreaker" <noone@nowhere.com> wrote in message
news:d23n5t01ilb@news3.newsguy.com...
> Darren George wrote:
>> If anyone wants to make a mod, erase the smegging gloams!! And allow
>> some decent shields to have more than 2 sockets, while you're at it.
>>
>> Bah!!
>
> By the time you reach A3 Hell in HC your resistances MUST be max or
> nearly. Heh, I'm nervous if I don't *enter* Hell with maxed resists. To
> this end, you need to religiously collect resists charms and other items,
> and equip them even at the expense of more "sexy" stuff. Make it a point
> to hang on to those 25%+ resists GCs and 10-11% resists SCs and then equip
> them as needed.
>
> And also make it a point to try to use as much damage reduction gear as
> possible, especially in areas where you know such nasties as the gloams
> are.
>
> My condolences, but every HC death has a silver lining because you can
> learn from it. Figure out what it was about your character/playing style
> that allowed the gloams to do you in, and next time, correct it.
>
> Good luck.
>
> --
> chainbreaker
>

Yep, but with a summoner you can get by with marginal resists in fire and
poison. I prioritize LR as it will need to be maxed by the time you reach
act 4 and pretty high by act 2. Cold is the next most important in case you
are in the range of a cold enchanted death. For fire, I think 50% is fine
or even down to 20% or so if you wear a Dwarf Star. Poison is usually fine
as long as it is positive. The only close call I have had with poison is
the time I tried to do the dungeons in Kurast with 800 life and about 20%
PR. A stair trap with spiders nailed me with poison at a rate of about
200-300hp/second after resists. Even that is usually manageable unless you
are taking other damage at the time. That character died a minute later
when swarmed by two boss packs, one with Fanatisism. I hate that quest.

-Steve

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Darren George wrote:
> This is, of course, SC, since I went back for my body a dozen times or so.
> But I -have- been hanging on to every resist charm I could find. Where the
> hell do you find 25% GCs and 11% SC? The best I've found is 13% on a grand
> and 7% on a small (and I've equipped everything above +2% just to get them
> positive). I even sold a +3 summoning ammy so I could equip a rare +1
> skill/ +10-16%resists one.
>
> I don't twink my characters, and I don't have a character tough enough to
> run around any good areas with nothing but MF gear. So advice like "wear a
> wisp projector" or "make sure you wear your +25% res charms" borders on the
> silly.

Like Neithskye suggested, invest skill points in Dim Vision,
then. DM blinds a monster (except Champions/Bosses), which
means they will not cast any spell, or attack, unless you or
your minions are at it's melee range, in such case they will
usually melee the "intruders" and neglect anyone beyond the
melee range. You, the necromancer master, who stand way behind,
will have very little chance of getting hit.

DV is, however, practically, a prerequisite-only skill or a
skill that requires quite some investment in points. Low slvl
DV affects only a tiny area and is not of much use. High slvl
DV, OTOH, affects an area of more than a screen, and you can
blind monsters you don't even see on screen.

Bing

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

> Like Neithskye suggested, invest skill points in Dim Vision,
> then. DM blinds a monster (except Champions/Bosses), which
> means they will not cast any spell, or attack, unless you or
> your minions are at it's melee range, in such case they will
> usually melee the "intruders" and neglect anyone beyond the
> melee range. You, the necromancer master, who stand way behind,
> will have very little chance of getting hit.

Yeah- that's good advice that I intend to take (if I ever get far enough
past the gloams to ever gain another level).

Cheers,

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Steve W wrote:
> Yep, but with a summoner you can get by with marginal resists in fire
> and poison.

In HC you can't get by with marginal resists in anything, no matter what
your character is or what type it is. Sooner or later that weak spot will
bite your ass. It takes little extra effort to cover it.

Live and learn.

Or *die* and learn, rather.

--
chainbreaker

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Darren George wrote:
> I don't twink my characters, and I don't have a character tough
> enough to run around any good areas with nothing but MF gear. So
> advice like "wear a wisp projector" or "make sure you wear your +25%
> res charms" borders on the silly.
>
> Cheers,

I didn't say anything of the kind. I was just saying to hang on to those
high resist charms when you find them so that you'll have them when you need
them. You'd be surprised at how many people just throw those kinds of
charms away. Resist charms in SC aren't nearly as sexy as enhanced damage
charms, but they'll save you a lot of aggravation.

My excuse for misreading your travail as being in HC is that it was very
early in the morning when I read the post. Regardless, the same principles
regarding resists apply to both SC and HC--unless you don't mind dying a lot
in SC, that is.

--
chainbreaker

 

[nobody]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Darren George wrote:
> I agree fully with my zoomancer- gloams are the bane of all existance, and
> characters should be allowed to smack their mercs.

As a sorc, I had a long bout with Gloams in the Frozen River in Hell.
Like a fool, I rushed into an area with a boss gloam, and died. To get
back to my body took me over an hour. My merc would die, I would die,
and eventually I had no $ to get the merc back. I had to busk at act 1.

Finally, I learned to dodge the bolts as much as possible, while at the
same time coaxing the gloams across the moats on that level so my Merc
could take them on. Unfortunately, the corridors on that level don't
allow much lateral motion, since they're too narrow.

I would also hide behind the niches in the walls and hope my merc would
do them in. At one point, I had 5 or 6 bodies lying around. A real
mess... I have since learned that sometimes it's best to quit the game
when you die in such a precarious place. I owe that to the gloams, at least.

I am not sure, but I think hit recovery is important with them. Often
the first bolt wouldn't kill me, but I was unable to dodge the second
due to the "shock". That is the most frustrating part, I think.

I routinely yell at my mercs. Lately I've been playing a Bowazon, and
you can re-cast the Valkyrie into the space you want. Same goes for
golems, etc. Wish that was possible with the dumbass mercs sometimes!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

> I didn't say anything of the kind. ...You'd be surprised at how many
> people just throw those kinds of charms away.

Yes, I would be surprised to find that anyone would throw away good resist
charms. I never seem to find any decent equipment, while most of the people
who post on this forum speak so casually of stuff most of my characters only
dream about.

> My excuse for misreading your travail as being in HC is that it was very
> early in the morning when I read the post.

If I had lost a hardcore character like that, I'd be far too ticked off to
even look at my computer (without a hammer in hand, at least). Since this
rickety old thing has been known to kill characters through lag in single
player mode, I'd be daft to try playing hardcore on it.

Cheers,

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Darren George wrote:
>> I didn't say anything of the kind. ...You'd be surprised at how many
>> people just throw those kinds of charms away.
>
> Yes, I would be surprised to find that anyone would throw away good
> resist charms. I never seem to find any decent equipment, while most
> of the people who post on this forum speak so casually of stuff most
> of my characters only dream about.
>

That's probably simply because we've played way more than most sane
individuals would even consider.

And to address the first part, I think some people throw such stuff away
simply because they don't realize its potential value. Since I don't really
know how much playing experience you have, I wanted to make sure you did.

>> My excuse for misreading your travail as being in HC is that it was
>> very early in the morning when I read the post.
>
> If I had lost a hardcore character like that, I'd be far too ticked
> off to even look at my computer (without a hammer in hand, at least).
> Since this rickety old thing has been known to kill characters
> through lag in single player mode, I'd be daft to try playing
> hardcore on it.
>
> Cheers,

I think old age was a factor in misreading the exact circumstances, too--at
least I'm claiming that, too.

--
chainbreaker

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

They're not too bad if you have the right equipment and skills. I have
a leather helm (can't remember what it's called right now) that gives
+2 to all skills and attributes as well as having the max. for all
resistances on my Assassin (lvl 87) in Hell. I try to play the game
without partners but I will help if asked. I get a lot of requests for
help in taking out Meph because of the Undead Stygian Dolls. I can get
rid of them by hitting them with mind blast followed by hits from
blade fury at 45 - 65 HP per hit. With the blades coming out like a
machine-gun it's short work. I just wish I could get some item that
gives me strafe. I can lay down a bunch of Death Sentry traps that
blows up any remaining dolls or other monsters since I'm getting about
80% HP damage per fallen enemy. I have been doing lotsa tomb runs and
with wearing the Wealth Armour instead of Smoke, I get way too many
uniques and rares. The storage room is currently being used to collect
rare runes as i find these occassionally. That's not to say parts of
the game aren't tough...they are. Arreat Summit, Baal, Diablo, etc.
can be a bitch if you play solo. But some of the tougher areas that
used to give me headaches like The Spider Forest, The Tombs, The
HellForge, etc. are now way too easy...

$$

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

$ecret $am wrote:
> They're not too bad if you have the right equipment and skills. I have
<snip>

It's a shame necs and other characters don't have a skill like the barb's
Taunt. That makes handling gloams a piece of cake--it's slow, but it's easy
and safe.

--
chainbreaker

If you need to email, then chainbreaker (naturally) at comcast dot
net--that's "net" not "com"--should do it.

 

[Jason]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

> It's a shame necs and other characters don't have a skill like the
barb's
> Taunt. That makes handling gloams a piece of cake--it's slow, but
it's easy
> and safe.

Damn straight! It's too bad bliz keeps nerfing melee chars.
Nonetheless, a barb is just about the only character that can hold my
attention more than a day ot two.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Jason wrote:
>> It's a shame necs and other characters don't have a skill like the
>> barb's Taunt. That makes handling gloams a piece of cake--it's
>> slow, but it's easy and safe.
>
> Damn straight! It's too bad bliz keeps nerfing melee chars.
> Nonetheless, a barb is just about the only character that can hold my
> attention more than a day ot two.

Likewise, except I do manage to have some fun with a MA assy from time to
time.

--
chainbreaker

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.games.diablo2 (More info?)

Prolly a day late and a few thousand GP later but did you ever think to cast
a golem, any would do *ahead* of where your body lay? That way the fuctards
would key on the Gol and you could get your corpse.

Rhatt
(playing HC I found this to be a good lightening rod for the unknown areas
where it can be nasty)


"Darren George" <madalch@starmail.com> wrote in message
news:3ajhmuF6aan5rU1@individual.net...
>I agree fully with my zoomancer- gloams are the bane of all existance, and
> characters should be allowed to smack their mercs.
>
> Wandering throught the Great Swamp (Act 3 Hell), I encounter one. A
> stream
> of lightning comes in from off-screen, and my life is now down to 5%. I
> hammer on the 1 to drink a purple pot, but another bolt from offscreen
> kills
> me in a flash.
>
> I ressurect my merc, waypoint over to Act 1 to get some fresh skellies.
> The
> clay golem wanders into a bosspack of zombies, while the merc hangs back
> for
> five minutes, picking his nose with his lance. Since he hasn't been
> involved in combat, his aura doesn't even activate, making him completely
> useless. A couple more purple pots and six golems later, I start to
> collect
> my army.
>
> Once that's done, I waypoint back to the spider forest and take the long,
> winding road back to my corpse. As I cautiously approach the spot where I
> was last killed, a bolt of lightning appears and I die.
>
> Back to Act 1, try again. This time I approach my grave with trepidation,
> and try to urge my followers forwards. There's a reason they're called
> followers- the cowards hide behind me at every opportunity. I try casting
> a
> fire golem half a screen ahead of me- it scurries back behind me like its
> tail was on fire (and why would this bother a fire golem, anyway?). As
> soon
> as I get close to my corpse, a bolt of lightning shoots out of nowhere-
> sometimes deftly avoided, more often killing me instantly.
>
> After an hour and a half of this, I managed to grab my original corpse,
> with
> practically no help from my minions. Hopefully, I didn't lose any of my
> equipment.
>
> I am now officially giving up my search for a head with better mods than
> +1
> to summoning. I've checked every freaking head since Act 2 NM, and it's a
> waste of time- I'm getting Larzuk to socket the next scutum I find, and
> stuffing it with diamonds.
>
> If anyone wants to make a mod, erase the smegging gloams!! And allow some
> decent shields to have more than 2 sockets, while you're at it.
>
> Bah!!
>
>