GoGoGadgetz / GoGoGadgets / GoGoGadgetx

[KingOfPain]

GGG(z) Does NM Meph

This was done shortly after Normal Baal, pre V2.4

It would seem GGG(z) took a liking in archery. Not that he was any good at it. However, Kuko with its exploding arrows and piercing attacks guaranteed hits on monsters shaped his delusion of his competence with the bow; which he would soon learn the truth.

With the Kuko in hand, and a few borrowed skills he learned from summer jobs at the Professional Traffic Control Flagging Services and a bit of patience, he made his way down to Mephisto. He visited the KoPonyXpress's armoury in preparation for the up coming battle and he fancy himself to be a summoner out on a whim.... after all he was born necro

Lets just say he was lucky he didn't forget to bring this little white wand he crafted in his spare time. 





It's obviously KoP is no summoner. Losing Revives around corners, failing to keep the count, letting the summons idle instead of attacking, and then wondering if it was the merc stuck in the other room mid-battle...  

He only managed to bring 7 out of the maximum 20 Revives into action. It is a good thing to have a Valk on the side to soak up more damages too. The Harmony was a fun diversion. It must have registered at least 5% auto hit, eh?

[Boro]

that was a big ice ball KoP!

[KingOfPain]

Yup. That would have been a one hit kill, a little too tight. I think it's time to switch out Ice Blink and other junk fore a 2 hit kill, at least.

Ice Blink had served well in normal without the NM/Hell freeze duration penalty. It still work well for my Thrower but he throws Frenzy'd fast to make it work.

[KingOfPain]

GoGoGadgets the Baba (not to be confused with GoGoGadgetz the Necro)

Nothing much to report but jogging down a few notes and getting the ball rolling again.

I haven't touched this guy for awhile. He loaded up in Normal with WSK2 WP, Clvl 38. On the one hand he is holding A kuko, and a pair of BloodLetters on the swap. He's got Ice Blink, and Sigon Boots, Belt and Gloves. On his head is a Jawbone Visor with +2 Grim Ward, and +2 BO. Note that, this Baba is not going to have your normal Baba buffs from the Warcries tree. If he get them at all, it would be at low levels and with sacrifice.

The pair of BloodLetters is absolutely fantastic for a no skill baba, at this lvl, the time being. However, I try not to play him like a Baba so they were seldom used. Right now, the Nef'd Kuko plays nicely.

As for the merc, LoL, he's using a Woestave (which is great) and some armor and hat from Act 2 Fara. I gave him and upgrade after Baal - Sigon Hat and Armor - your best low lvl merc combo.

The Kuko dispersed Normal Baal waves without a hitch while Baal needed some convincing with the swords. Otherwise an easy run.

Kuko is holding up so far in NM 1 with some challenges (that's a Good Thing™) and will be the main weapon until it hits a dead end.

Although I keep my eyes open, I have no real plan for the Baba or the Necro. I want to surprise myself and see what comes up as they progress.
The Necro is predestined to wear the whole Trang set and have Fire spells as his main skills. He still mhave the weapon and boots slot open for more tricks.
The Baba, I dunno, maybe a full-fledged summoner. I traded 3 unid Anni for a Metalgrid, so.

[KingOfPain]

GGG Baba Does NM Andy

GGG got to NM Andariel at clvl 41. He had since stored his pair of BloodLetters and equipped 2 other weapons - a special greeting for Andariel. The entire NM 1 was done with Kashya's Kuko Shakaku, except Cat4. NM 1 was easy going with a bow and underwhelming Merc, in MP3.

Hmm, a spear and a mace. What can they be?
 



Ice Blink usefulness diminished quickly as the Mlvl vs Clvl gap widened. GGG found a Vipermagi in the stash that would serve for the time being. He would find his Poison Resistance is in the negative and switched to a Venom Ward facing down Andy. He also socketed is hat with ThulOrtTal to bring in more resists.

Here, as Andariel said "Fear me", he got worried for his merc. GGG packed some grape juice just for him. Nice driver, I know. GGG handed Andy her surprise package, and Andy was shocked, literally. As if the power of Lightning Strike wasn't enough (it wasn't) GGG decided to throw a few snowballs in the mix. 194K gold after, Andy was no more.





GGG Stats



Cost for 19 charges of lvl9 Frozen Orbs = 94K
Cost for 42 charges of lvl3 Lightning Strike = 100k
Lightning Strike pales in comparison in the Bang-For-The-Buck department. However, I think GGG could have downed Andy with lvl 3 Lightning Strike charges alone, if at the cost of more potions and having to town to recharge the stick.

The way I play these GGG builds is not always having the characters optimized. I gather stuff because they look "cute", such as this simbilan, lots of AR, IAS and CHARGES - It might come in handy for a variant in need. I also don't search through my entire team of mules to find the best of the best for the tasks. I would search a couple of mules and see something that might work and just say lets give it a try. Not for Best In Slot items. So there's always a little surprise even to myself.

And that is the fun where I find it.


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[KingOfPain]

GoGoGadgets NM Act 2-3

The abundance of Fire Immune skeletons challenged Kuko explosive power of superiority. The pace slowed down, to make sure mobs are strung out, nicely lined up for the pierce. The Sewers layout makes this easy. That help a lot to keep the merc alive as well since he can't leech from bones. Radament and mob posted a slight problem when they can barely kill faster than Rad can revive, but patience and Balance Knife of Life Tap prevailed. That was an early warning of what's to come in the Tombs.

The Tomb to the Chamber was packed room to room and wall to wall with Greater Mummy and their Revives. Clearing the way to Duriel had GGGs lvlup 3 times. Heavy use of Grim Ward (from the hat) came in handy. It was better when monsters in the whole room ran around like crazy than having them focus on the merc. All I could do is try to maneuver the merc to plug the doors. That worked well for when I bring out the hurt, aka, Frozen Orb and Corpse Explosion (from Black) alternately.

This quest was not cheap. Even tho we can count on unlimited funding from Aunty McTyraelGal, this withdrawal of funds saw an raised eyebrow from her...

Duriel died of shock. He was shocked about a bow wielding Baba and finding himself move slower than its blue opponents.

---

And so it went without a hitch that all through Act3 saw no juju from GGGs. There was one bow that ruled them all.

I thought Durance 3 would be worth a recording. It is not Mephisto that adventurers fear most. It is quite a sight the see a party land on Dur3, you will never seen more Town Portals cast anywhere else, and sometimes recast over and over again. Bremm and Co. is where the game is, especially when the Gould Lords are Champs.

The battle with Bemm and Co (yup Champs too) was messy and the merc was gone at an instant. It was a good mess, because GGG was able to dispatch the mob without the merc proving his self worth. Thanks to the knockback effect and the initial poke by the Woestave that allow GGG some breathing room in the beginning.

Maybe now the world will have peace...

[KingOfPain]

Note: There will always be this challenge when playing the GoGoGadets
Since their equipment and skills are always changing, so are their hotkeys; it is always messy with using the wrong skills. And at times, trying to use a skill not equipped. For example, I just remember now I switched out the Razortail for the Sigon belt before facing Meph
Note to self: Put Razortail back on.

[KingOfPain]

GoGoGadgets NM 4

GGGs Reached clvl 48 in NM Act4. Upgraded his armor to Stone for the Clay Golem charges. The lvl16 Molten Boulder are completely useless at this clvl/mlvl, a waste of precious gold. Yes, gold has value with GGG builds. You have to wonder wtf the devs are thinking. I mean if they don't want it to be effective, just make it lvl1 spell purely for show. Were they afraid some Druid might build up the synergies and get some utility out of it?

The merc switched his weapon to Hone Sundan from Woestave since the job of slowing monsters went to the lump of clay. He also switched in the Shaftstop replacing his Duriel Shell. Maybe I will let him try out a Treachery when I have time to dig around. IAS break points for the merc are 37%, 65% and 105%. Shael Shael Amn in Hone Sundan and Treachery totals 85%. I am not sure the 0.5 APS is worth the switch. If he gets leech somewhere then I might give him a 3 Shael'd Sundan to reach 105%, upgraded to Ghost Spear, even.

The pacing to Diablo was steady. The lump of clay was a little weak in a mob and needed attention often. GGG has better hats but none with Grim Ward, which has proved itself most valuable as traffic control and let GGG choose his battle grounds.

Kuko is holding out all the way through although less effective vs Fire Immunes. For a Baba who has nothing investing in attack rating with no bow skill you just can't beat a always hit bow. In comparison, Kuko's piercing Exploding Arrows is better than a (non synergized) slvl20 Fireball, more or less the same damage but also pierces.

Yup, I planned for the lump of clay to die before it can land a hit on Diablo but it managed to land a couple of hits before vanishing. The weapon switch might not have been necessary. However, I might just switch to an Iron Golly. This is where it might get expensive itemwise....






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[T-hawk]

FYI, Clay Golem doesn't need to hit an enemy to apply the slowing - it also works if the monster hits the golem. https://www.theamazonbasin.com/wiki/inde...ows_Target

And yeah, the charges on Stone are quite useful for any class.

[KingOfPain]

FYI, Clay Golem doesn't need to hit an enemy to apply the slowing - it also works if the monster hits the golem.  https://www.theamazonbasin.com/wiki/inde...ows_Target

And yeah, the charges on Stone are quite useful for any class.

Good to know. And since Clay Golem charges are relatively cheap it would be affordable to spam it at multiple locations if the occasion arises....