Ironman victory with Rogue/Mage duo; the first ever recorded with this pair!

[Foxhound3857]

As of this morning, me (FoxBolt) and Attika (Featt) finished the first known Ironman game with a never before done pair of Rogue and Mage.

We spent a lot of time redoing games on dlvl1 over and over until we got a PS; that was the only thing that would make this game possible. We found our PS on one, then I joined the game with a fresh mage and bought my town purchases without consulting him (as he already knew what had dropped on 1 and I didn't).

This game was VERY friendly with books and staves. I found THREE books of Lightning, a book of Firewall, THREE books of Mana Shield (one went to Att for 16), 2 books of heal, 1 book ho, and 1 book hb for Diablo. We had one death this game, and it was at the very end, but Attika managed to finish Diablo without reviving me, so we saved all 7 of our Res scrolls for Nightmare. We also found a BF on 4 which gave Attika the ability to solo and save lots of potions. I don't know how many reds he has left, but I carried over 20 small blues, 12 small yellows, and 11 big yellows.

Here's the story of Dlvls 15 and 16.

Level 15.
Enemies: Soul Burners, Balrogs.
Drops: Split-Skull shield, Naj's Puzzler, Executioners Blade, Ring, Ring Mail-20. 2 cauldrons.

Compared to 13 and 14, this floor was a nightmare. Once we cleared the first area (which had no cover), we used teamwork for the entire level. Attika killed single soulies using shish-kebobs, and brought all Rogs to me (some came 4 at a time or more!) to zap with Lightning. Thanks to the PS I could stand my ground against 2 or 3 rogs at a time (and I had to intercept them to have a clear shot anyway), but I was visiting the PS after almost every battle, and we had very little resist to work with (topaz 13% ring).

Jade gave up Exe blade, Vex gave up Split-Skull, and Laz gave up Naj's Puzzler (we ID'd after 15 was clear) which turned me into a powerhouse with 20% resist all and +20 magic. I believe Bloodlust gave up a Long Sword. Other than that, no noteworthy drops.

After 15, we used the Glimmering shrine on all of our best items, and our jewelry. We ended up with:

Mail of the Tiger +44.
Awesome Armor.
Awesome/Tiger armor.
Sword of Speed.
Sword of Vampires.
Shield of Absorption -3.
Red Amulet of Might. 11/8.
Amulet of the Moon +7.
Topaz ring +12 all res.
Pearl ring +25 magic res.
Accuracy ring +11 dex.
Saintly/Wolf Breast plate.

We also used one of our 3 remaining ID scrolls on the Naj's Puzzler. Brought me to 370 mana.

Level 16.
Enemies: Usual.
Drops: Amulet, Small Shield (Indestructable), Long War Bow (magic), book MS.

A long hallway effectively quarted the level. I needed 420k to lup while att needed 480k. We decided to try and share kills as much as possible. Att killed BK's after I tagged them with my TK stick (35 charges), and I roasted Advos with my Firewall spell. I reached Lv23 by the time I started on outer Quad 3 (cleared outer/inner 1 and 2, and outer 4 first). I cleaned the rest of outside quad 3, then threw the lever and Att cleared inside 3.

Then we marked Diablos position and I set directly south of the cage. Att threw the levers and bailed out of the first TP while I led Diablo (Mana Shield with 300+ mana) to the center of Quad 2. He almost had me a few times, but I had Naj's Puzzler (Teleport charges) to stay ahead of him, and I teleported straight to the long hallway as soon as he was in the center...right into a BK sandwich. I managed to break free, but they damaged my armor severely and it was no longer usable. Had to go to unid'd Aut Leather.

We began clearing bodyguards. Once Att had reached 23, I decided to burn my 2 Apoc scrolls on the cage. I killed a few and lured the incoming BK's to att. He then finished the cage off, and there was no last drop.

We went to town, packed up, loaded our belts with pots, and got ready for the final showdown. Screenshots of my stats will be available at the bottom.

We went to Quad 2 and burned one of two infra scrolls to see Diablos exact position. I had Attika set in the northwest corner, then I lured Diablo into her swing. As soon as it was safe, I swung around Diablo, threw up a Golem and began opening up with Holy Bolts. Unfortunately, after about 30 bolts I stopped paying attention to my mana and drank too late; my MS went down before it registered. Diablo threw an Apoc and I died instantly (Only had 40 life because of the -25 from Puzzler). Fortunately, my Golem stayed in attendance and Attika finished him 5 seconds later.

That one death was the ONLY death we had for the entire game.

We got booted to the channel sporting dots, then we made a game for the free res, heal, and ID from grateful townsfolk. Some of the items we got were absolutely amazing.

Sword of Swiftness.
Lapis/Moon Breast Plate. (35/5)
Knights Staff of Golem (33 tohit, 24 charges). Good for tagging.
Ring Mail of the Stars (10 all).
Dragons Amulet of Wizardry (58/29)!!!

With the amulet, mail, and Naj's puzzler, I have almost 500 mana. The knights stick will allow me to tag enemies in NM for a while, at least until I (hopefully) find a book of TK.

So that's it. The first ever recorded IM victory with a Rogue/Mage duo. I want to continue this game to nightmare because of the great equipment, but Attika doesn't want to. Attika, if you don't want to continue this game right now, AT LEAST save the character so we can keep playing at a later time. I really think that this is a game that we can take all the way to Hell mode, and I'd hate to throw it away after we did so well. Let me know your thoughts.

Here's some random screenshots of our game.





This was an AWESOME set on 11 that allowed Attika to clear half of the level from (Frost Chargers and Blood Claws).



My stats prior to defeating Diablo.



My beautiful Naj's Puzzler.



Me and Attika ready and willing to slay Diablo and go home.



Me and Attika doing our thing. See her blade in the corner?



That is not funny, but we have VICTORY! Blood-spewing animation.

Final note: Although I had the PS and numerous books at my side and a PS/BF plus many bows for Attika, I feel that we would not have survived the game without Attikas amazing scouting. Attikas scouting is the difference between one baddie and 6 baddies, which is what I usually end up drawing. Attika made this game winnable, no doubt.

Great game!

KingofPain: I'm wondering if this tale is good enough to get posted on the Ironman Forge section, since it's the first one with this character combination. Let me know. =P

[Moriah]

Big Gratz

Apart from the regulatory salutations, which are totally deserved for any IM victory, one thing stood out from the tale for me above anything else:

"We found our PS on one, then I joined the game with a fresh mage and bought my town purchases without consulting him (as he already knew what had dropped on 1 and I didn't)."

Playing a LoL myself (Vixie), I know the value of knowing the drops beforehand all too well for the later levels, so this sentence demonstrates your determination and your dedication stretched right throughout the game from start to finish.

Once again, a big gratz to the pair of you on a job well done and what could you possibly think of for your next challenge (apart from living at the end)?

Yours,

Moriah.

[Foxhound3857]

We're going to do a Warr/mage game next, and then a Mage/Mage game. After that, a classic 3man with warr/rogue/mage, and then a triple-rogue, and then (if we can find another player) a 4-man game of 2 warrs, rogue, and mage.

We were gonig to ask KoP or Hureg to be our 4th (Petre might not make it as our third), but we're always looking for people to play with.

[Moriah]

Hi

I haven't played D1 as a regular char for almost a decade now, but I am faced with some time on my hands due to a broken toe.
Atm I'm still negotiating with my boss on how we can get through the last 2 frantic weeks of the SUBfootball season in Auckland, NZ, but after that I will be bored for 24/7 until the middle of April.
Btw, SUBfootball is a kind of 7-aside soccer variant with modified rules to keep the games at a strictly social level and almost completely free of serious injuries.
Unfortunately, my toe is evidence to the contrary right now

Yours,

Moriah.

[Foxhound3857]

Get back to me with a schedule and I'll ask Attica if we can make it work. We've been playing a lot more often than usual, so it might work.

[Moriah]

Hi

I gotta give priority to work for the next 2 weeks, I'm afraid.
Broke the toe on Wed night, went to Emergency in City the next afternoon.
They were going to operate and all sorts (with my permission, of course), but I had to decline because I still had to work Thu night too.
Just as well as on Thu night they sent me to North Shore hospital, where the toe had improved slightly and the doctor was willing to try non-invasive immobility as the treatment.
Thus I got out of it with the splint & moonboot, avoiding the knife.

As for D1, it will take me a few games to get back in the swing of things, so I'll try a few SP IM games to escape the chaos of sports play-offs.
We're doing quarters on Mon-Tue, semis on Wed and finals on Thu for 7-9 titles, if that gives you an indication of the logistics of the exercise.

Good luck with the upcoming char/class combos and hopefully I'll be able to join in the fun in a fortnight.
As I have refereed quite a few games this season, feel free to freely express your heart-felt sentiments in the game when you see the noob mistakes you'd forgotten about a decade ago
We get that all the time from the players

Yours,

Moriah.

[Dr.Disaster]

My congratulations on this nicely done job!

No need to be too sad about death right at the finishing line. PS or not, going this far with a mage and still having mana pots to burn is a good sign.

A very lucky find on that DragZod! Just the kind of luck a mage needs

Dr. Disaster

[Occhidiangela]

My congratulations on this nicely done job!

No need to be too sad about death right at the finishing line. PS or not, going this far with a mage and still having mana pots to burn is a good sign.

A very lucky find on that DragZod! Just the kind of luck a mage needs

Dr. Disaster

What is a PS?

Occhi

[Dr.Disaster]

What is a PS?

PS is short for D1's Purifying Spring. It is an unlimited supply for mana recovering 1 point per click.

The Blood Fountain (BS) is the corresponding well for health recovery.

Dr. Disaster

[KingOfPain]

Always good to hear an IM victory! Hope to see a NM continuation

The report is up.

KoP