IRONMAN LOCK-IN VICTORY: Foxhound3857 and Attika.

[Foxhound3857]

This is a copy/paste of our victory posted at the DSF.

Foxhound3857 (stonewall warrior) and Attika (uberrogue, as he is called) have successfully completed their first (well, Fox's first, in any case) Lock-In game as a duo. After our first victory in Relaxed-Fit, I suggested a Lock-In game because that's the ruleset I like to play by. I was a bit skeptical of it because of how much stricter it is when compared to Relaxed Fit, but after playing with the LI ruleset, it just feels right. It feels like a true Ironman game.

We had no PS or BF on any floor, and no Glimmering shrine either. Our pickings were slim, but we made it through with very few casualities thanks to Attika's excellent scouting. It's true; watching Attika play the Rogue is a beautiful thing.

Grab a soda, kick back, and enjoy.

---LOCK-IN VICTORY GAME---

Town buys: Small Red Potion, Buckler-5, cap-3, ID Scroll.

Floor 1.
Enemies: Usual.
Shrines: None.
Items: Falchion, Buckler-5, Cape-2 (magic), Short Bow, Heal Scroll x4, ID Scroll, Book: Heal Other, Resurrect Scroll, Sabre (Magic).

As this is Lock-In, I could no longer go down alone and make a safe entry for the scouting Rogue, so instead I counted 3, and on 3 we charged down the stairs together. This actually worked to our advantage a little bit because my computer loaded the next floor in 3 seconds, while it took 30 for Attika.

Uneventful clear, but the small level size provided little to kill; I didn't even reach Clvl4.

Floor 2.
Enemies: Corpse Captains, Burning Dead, Fiends, Scavengers, Fallen Ones (stick).
Shrines: None.
Items: Book: Heal x3, Robe-7 (magic), Heal Stick (25), ID Scroll x4, Heal Scroll x4, Hunters Bow (magic), Quilted Armor-9 (magic), Short Sword (magic).

Easy enemies with some that provided mucho experience. We got a set, then I went solo for a little extra experience. Attika killed enough to reach Clvl2, then when only the Butcher was left, I went and hid while Attika stairtrapped him. No incidents.

Floor 3.
Enemies: Black Death (ugh), Corpse Axe, Shadow Beasts, Carvers (stick).
Shrines: None. (?)
Items: Sabre (magic), Lightning Scroll x2, ID Scroll x6 (!), Heal Scroll, Book: Heal, Blade (magic), Resurrect Scroll, Long Sword (magic), Chainmail-18 (magic).

Black Deaths were annoying, but Attika was able to deal with them. One incident late in the level; I left my set because of an incoming mob of BD's while Attika was at my side plinking away. I didn't inform him that I was running, which was a big mistake. As a result, the BD hit him, costing him a permanent loss of 1HP. This was my fault, and I don't blame him for getting angry at me.

Leo was found late and we used Rogue Formation to take him at the nearest door; no potions used while fighting him. He dropped a magic chainmail-18. We debated IDing it, but I knew better as when I looked at the Durability, it was all the way up to 134. Bah; at least it makes for a decent plain piece, and this early to boot.

Floor 4.
Enemies: Plague Eaters, Horror Captains, Burning Dead, Burning Captains, Bone Gashers, Burning Archers, Glooms.
Shrines: None. (What the hell!?)
Items: Hard Leather Armor-12 (magic), Hard Leather Armor-14 (magic), Broad Sword (magic), ID Scroll x4, Heal Scroll, Resurrect Scroll, Small Shield-3 (magic).

Nasty set of enemies to put up with; Bone Gashers and Horror Captains in particular gave us a hard time. We held sets like no tomorrow on this floor; we had to keep ambushes down at all costs. No incidents, thankfully.

No shrines for the entire church. Hell of a game so far.

More to come. =P

[Foxhound3857]

Floor 5.
Enemies: Horror Archers, Bone Gashers, Dark One (sword), Dark One (stick), Burning Dead Captains, Horror Captains.
Shrines: None. (JEEZ!)
Items: ID Scroll, Warhammer, Long Bow (magic).

More of the same enemies, so nothing we couldn't handle. Once we had a set, everything went smoothly. Even Shadowdrinker was no match for my strong arm.

Floor 6.
Enemies: Stone Clan Archers, Fire Clan Archers, Familliars, Flesh Clan Archers.
Shrines: Magical, Eerie. (FINALLY, some shrines!)
Items: Short Battle Bow, Resurrect Scroll x3, ID Scroll x3, Book: Firebolt, Mana Shield Scroll, Ring.

THREE different Archer-type goats on this floor, so Attika was the star of the show here. I was constantly switching sides at our set to keep the archers off of me. It was annoying, but everything went fine.

We considered iding the ring, but seeing as it's such a low drop, we decided not to. I put it in the corner for memory. A total of 20 (count em, TWENTY!) ID scrolls up to now.

Floor 7.
Enemies: Unseen, Familliars, Fire Clan Archers, Stone Clan Maces.
Shrines: Magical, Fascinating.
Items: Falchion (Magic), Short Battle Bow (magic), Broad Sword (magic), Heal Scroll, Mana Shield Scroll.

Fire Clan Archers meant that Blightfire was on the floor somewhere, and we happened to encounter him early. We had few sets to choose from, so we used the one that was at the start of a turn, that way, none of them could flank from the left and they would all be corraled in one general area. Attika was plinking like mad, but the goats were constantly shifting position, making a clear shot difficult. Seeing that there was no alternative, I stood my ground and ate a steady stream of Bloodstars, giving Attika the window he needed to take them down one by one. I took a lot of damage (drank 2 reds), but the deed was done finally, and Blightfire lay in a pool of his own blood. Attika later complemented me for staying "cool under fire." No problems after Blightfire is out of the way.

Floor 8.
Enemies: Illusion Weavers (ugh), Familliars.
Shrines: None.
Items: Ammy, Long Battle Bow, Ammy, Ring.

More annoying enemies, and the weavers meant that we had to be extremely careful to prevent ambushes. Very slow scouting for Attika here. But we made it through without casualities.

Seeing as we would not likely get a Glimm shrine, we blew a few of our ID's here to prepare for the caves (which we consider to be the hardest floors in an Ironman game). We ID'd 2 rings, an ammy, and the falchion I found earlier. We got the following.

Gold Ring: 25% (nice).
Brilliance Ring: +11 magic.
Vim amulet: +13 vit.
Heavy Falchion: +58% damage.

The Gold Ring, Vim Ammy, and Heavy Falch went to me, while the Brill ring went to Att for reading power and extra HO juice. The ID's were well-spent, in my opinion. 16 remain.

More to come. =P

[Foxhound3857]

Floor 9.
Enemies: Magma Demons, Poison Spitters, Night Clan Archers.
Shrines: None.
Items: Ring, Book: Charged Bolt, Ring, Ring, Book: Heal.

No incidents on this floor; Night Archers were all Attika's department, and Magmas/Poisons were lured into my blade.

We ID'd one of the rings that dropped here. Turned out to be Lapis/Vigor: 34/20. Not bad; it would surely help if storms showed.

Floor 10.
Obsidian Lords, Poison Spitters (ugh), Pit Beasts.
Shrines: None.
Items: Short Battle Bow (magic), Flail (unique).

A tougher mix of enemies; Obsidian Lords were more than a match for my low AC, so Attika lent artillery support against them. Pit Beasts were no problem and provided mucho experience to my cause. We encountered Plaguewrath early, but thankfully we had a good set to snipe from, so no problems (anyone ever notice that they have CRAZY spitting range for such a low-level dog?) .

Floor 11.
Enemies: Hell Stones, Red Storms.
Shrines: None.
Items: Ammy, Ring, Long War Bow.

Seeing storms, we began to appreciate the Lapis ring we had ID'd earlier; it came in handy on this floor. My low-AC meant bad things for me, as both enemies had a vicous double-swing. Attika scouted very carefully here and never brought more than I could manage. Thanks to that, we always kept our heads above water. No incidents this floor.

Floor 12.
Enemies: Storm Riders, Pit Beasts, Flayed Ones.
Shrines: None.
Items: Great Helm-10.

More Storms to add to our misery, and Flayed Ones were pretty good walls of meat against my strongarm. We called this a warriors level and I soloed most of it after our initial set (we came down and found ourselves a nice box, so it was very safe in the beginning, which is rare). I drank a lot on this floor because of quick moving, bringing more enemies than I meant to. I was able to handle each situation though, at the expense of some reds.

More to come. =P

Edit: Attika has this to say.

Attika: Just wanted you to comment that although we found a LWB on Caves 11, lag ate it within the first five minutes of Caves 12 (we hadn't even gotten out of the stairs up screen, for cryin out loud). This happened when dropped the bow to pick up the heal staff, then tried to grab the bow and ready it. Sigh. And that was the only long war bow that dropped in the entire game.

[Foxhound3857]

Floor 13.
Enemies: Black Knights, Lava Maws.
Shrines: Cauldron x2. (Cryptic, Eldritch)
Items: Kite Shield-15, Ring, Long Battle Bow (magic), Vit Elixir x2, Short Battle Bow (magic), Blade (magic), Gothic Plate-52, Scale Mail-25 (magic).

Easy enemies to fight, so no problems with the floor itself; we were fnished fairly quick, especially after we found the Gothic Plate, giving me a valid defense against the Maws.

After the floor was cleared, we geared my warrior up in preparation for the cauldrons. We chose the best ID candidates, and the best potions. Afterwords, I went off to hit cauldrons.

Our first death occurs here. Attika gets a little too close to the cauldron that I'm about to touch for whatever reason (says it was an accidental click). The cauldron turns out to be Cryptic, so it refills my mana (I can cast Heal once at the moment), but the ensuing Nova literally fries Attika where he stands. It was embarressing to the max, but at least now we're not pressured for a deathless clear.


That one was my fault Attika; I should have waited for you to take cover. Sorry. =P

The second cauldron was Eldritch, so all of Attikas mana pots turned into rejuvs (as well as my 5 full reds, so I lost my best potions from the cauldron. UGH!), which made Attika very happy. 24 reds left for me.

Floor 14.
Enemies: Balrogs (crap!), Hell Spawns (double crap!).
Shrines: Cauldron. (Mysterious)
Items: Full Plate Mail-65 (magic), Great Helm (magic), Kite Shield-12 (magic), Full Helm (magic), Scale Mail-26 (magic), Elix Str, Mace (magic), Sabre (magic), Hard Leather Armor-13 (magic).

Very nasty enemies to encounter (we had to expect it eventually), but we had an AMAZING set right from the beginning; the stairs we're one tile from the wall. We dug in and handled both rogs and witches from here. The stairs blocked Bloodstars (and caused some witches to walk blindly into my blade), and the choke allowed us to take rogs 1 by 1. We cleared over half the floor from this point. When the distance got too great, we switched to another set (but still kept it in mind).

One death on this floor: Foxhound died to a pack of rogs due to a miscommunication. This was entirely my fault, but I'd rather die and blow a res then waste the few reds I have left. This was the last death of the game, by the way.

Even with the godly first set, the floor was a nightmare to clear. The rogs always came in packs, the witches always shifted position to have a clear shot, and it was slow going the entire way. Even the Cauldron had a mouthful for us; it was Mysterious, and it hit my Dex, the only stat I had maxed. BAH!

We used a great deal of our ID's here hoping for some fire resist, seeing as we were getting awfully close to the climax. We got...

Mail of the Tiger.
Gold Ammy 30%. (nice)
Lapis/Giants Great Helm.
Vigor Ring.
Lapis Kite Shield.

Not really anything we needed, but the amulet was a nice addition to my arsenal.

Floor 15.
Enemies: Steel Lords, Snow Witches.
Shrines: Cauldron. (Spooky)
Items: Hard Leather Armor-13 (magic), Ring, Bastard Sword (magic, Stareye), Chainmail-19 (magic), Rags (magic), Ring, Elix str, Ammy, Elix mag, Ammy.

We were quite suprised at the easy enemies when compared to our last game on Floor 15 (Triple-Witch.), but considering the last floor, it was a nice change. This floor went very smoothly; my AC was valid for Steel Lords, and Snowies were easy to park for sniping through shiskebobs. Once we had some room to maneuver, Attika found a place to hide and I went to solo the floor for extra experience; I almost reached 23 by the end.

One embarressing moment; as I was scouting the western quadrants, there was a chest in the hallway dividing them. I got into a diagonal position to cut down on damage incase it was a Nova trap. It turned out to be a Fire Arrow trap, and the arrow damn near killed me, dealing over 100 damage! I had ONE HP LEFT when the trap finally subsided! Me and Attika were astonished that I actually lived; I was so close to death that it wasn't even funny. it could be nothing short of divine intervention.

We did the usual against Lazarus; we set behind a wall and lured Vex/Jade outside, then I went outside his cage in the upper corner for Laz to "sense" me, and Attika sniped all of the guards into pieces. Laz was disposed of rather effortlessly after that.

With still no Fire resist, we decided to use more ID's in the hopes that we might find something. We got...

Tiger Full Plate +46.
Savage/Blood Bastard Sword (!!!).
Sorcery Full Plate Mail.
Diamond/Harmony Amulet (too late...).
Precision Ammy +20. (nice!)

The Precision Ammy would come in handy on 16, and the boost to life was nice, but STILL no Fire resist. With only 3 ID's left and wanting to save one for Sir G, but also for any other potential drops, we cursed our luck and descended to 16 without any heat protection. Gah.

[Foxhound3857]

Floor 16: The Climax.
Enemies: Usual mix.
Shrines: None.
Items: Gothic Shield-17 (magic, Indestructable), Ring, Full Plate Mail-60 (magic), Battle Axe (unique), Ammy.

The stairs were in the middle between quads 3 and 4, so we were very careful in the beginning. Once we cleared around quad 4, I set behind a wall while Attika scouted. He killed all advos and brought Bk's to me; it only took a few to get me to Level 23. After that, I set in the room below quad 4 and Attika went on a freeromp through the floor, killing on sight. Suprisingly Attika took down Advos in quick order, and had no problems with BK's. I was sitting there playing my DS, asking for an occasional update, and before I knew it, quads 1-3 were all cleared of enemies. Damn, Attika. Way to go!

I set in the center behind the wall, then Attika threw the levers and brought Sir G (who was in Diablos quadrant, suprisingly) into my strong arm. He fell in seconds; my personal blood fountain did Jesus work against enemies here. When Attika was sure that he'd killed as many as he could without activating Diablo, we blew our last 3 ID's. I can't remember 2 of the items we ID'd, but one was an obsidian Ring 34%, which was too little too late. We could have used it way earlier, but oh well.

These were our stats prior to defeating Diablo.

Fox_IronForce: Level 23 Ironman Warrior.
Experience: 2472486.
Str: 94/111.
Mag: 9/9.
Dex: 60/80.
Vit: 35/55.
Life: 220.
Mana: 31.
AC: 111.
To-hit: 115%.
Damage: 37-57.
Resists: Lightning = Max, Fire/Magic = 0.

Savage/Blood Bastard Sword.
Tiger Full Plate Mail.
Gothic Shield-17 (Indestructable, Magic).
Cobalt/Giants Great Helm. (or was it Lapis/Giants?)
Gold Ring: 25%.
Lapis/Vigor ring: 34/20.
Precision Ammy: +20.

Attilock: Level 23 Ironman Rogue.
Exp: 2564957.
Str: 50/50.
Mag: 23/23.
Dex: 105/105.
Vit: 19/38.
Life: 159.
Mana: 74.
AC: 56.
To-hit: 132%.
Damage: 18-25.
Resists: 36 all.

Sabre (magic).
Small Shield-3 (magic).
Full Helm-7 (magic).
Tiger Scale Mail-25 (+44)
Obsidian Ring-34.
Vigor Ring-19.
Gold Ammy-30.

Attika hides, I bring Diablo out and lure him to quad 2. The idea is that I can get him to the center and get out before he catches up, and he'll lose interest.

Doesn't quite work that way.

I get him to quad 2, then double back and begin getting out, but alas he's close behind me and I can't outrun him. I run outside between quads 1 and 2, but he's on me like white on rice, constantly tagging me with Apocs and claws for massive damage. I alert Attika to this and ask him to quickly clear the remaining guards in quad 4. I keep Diablo moving in a circle, blocking Apocs, but soon he starts beelining for me instead of running circles and I keep getting tagged for massive damage; he's not letting up. I'm thinking the game is going to end here because Diablo is just not letting up, and it's all because of my stupid judgement. I could feel the horror and despair wash over me in a black and stinking wave as I realized my folly; there was no victory to be had here.

I'm down to 2 reds when Attika announces that all of the guards are dead, so I begin wailing on Diablo with my savage/blood sword. I hit him hard with 100% stun, but my AC is virtually naked to him and he constantly puts me in block, so it's a long and grueling process to slowly bring him down. By the time he goes down, I have one red left (my only full). I had to do it without Attika (and that's my fault; I DID manage to park Diablo once without a portal, but it was with a rogue at quad 3, and I had teleport to boot.), but as soon as I started swinging, my fears of failure quickly scattered to the winds.

Diablo finally starts spewing blood, and I jump out of my chair raving mad, my battle cry drowning the night (and waking my parents).

Afterwords, me and Attika both get booted to the channel, sporting dots. We make a new game and use the free ID from grateful townsfolk; the items were crap, and I can't really remember any of them, except the Kite Shield of the Ages. Glad I didn't ID that.

The funny thing is that I was in such a rush to kill Diablo that I didn't even think to pack up our scrolls, so we left FOUR Resurrect Scrolls behind, and it was all because I had to play a hero. Oh well; we had already decided that we weren't going to Nightmare this game. We called it a victory, put it to experience, and went to sleep.

Note: Me and Attika are in search of a third player for a 3-man IM game. We can't seem to find anybody; Petre never responds, and Attika says that Hureg doesn't have the time. He says he saw Roede the other day, whom I'd love to have as a partner, but it's probably not meant to be since the game would be obscenely laggy. If anyone wants, I'm willing to personally train you in the ways of Ironman, both with practice runs and studying of The Forge. If you're willing to listen and study hard, you'll do well.

That's it then. I hope you enjoyed our tale of endurance.

GREAT game Attika.

[StuporMan]

Congratulations on the lock in victory. Quite impressive with no BF, PS, or Glim.

IF you are looking for a third, I might can oblige. I have played a bit of Iron Warrior before (with Nystul) and am willing and able to learn the others.

Here is the rub (and you just knew there had to be one). I am only able to play on Monday evenings from 5:15 PM to 9:00 PM EDT or Tuesday Evenings from 4:30 PM to 9:00 PM EDT (brief break likely to occur around 5PM). I am also currently finishing up my graduate project and the days I can work on this also coincide. Fortunately, my project is all but finished (if my prof decides to lay off the feature creep). Let me know if you guys are willing to accommodate my schedule.

You guys may also be interested in the "tournament" going on here: http://ensaya.awardspace.com/diablo/foru...&topic=170

StuporMan

[Foxhound3857]

Thanks!

I am only really able to play on Mondays and Wednesdays at 7:00AM to a specific time, but my timezone is Pacific, which would probably be 10:00AM to you. If your time is what I think it is, it would be at 1:30PM for me on Tuesdays, which I just can't manage. I have class from 9:00AM to 5:00PM Tuesdays and Thursdays (college is demanding), so no way in hell I can manage this. Fridays is optional to me, but only in the evenings; Econ class from 11:00AM to 3:00PM.

If you can manage another time, let me know, but these are really the only ones I can work with.

[KingOfPain]

Thanks for the writeup. GRATS!

KoP

[StuporMan]

Sadly, I cannot make the times you mentioned. Work and wife take up most of the rest of my time. My wife's 12 hour shifts on Monday and Tuesday are the only times I really get for gaming. Ah well, I guess it will be solo IMing for me for a while.

Speaking of, any tips on running a solo IM mage and rogue would be appreciated. I need to beef up my non-warrior classes for if I can ever find some IM buddies.

[Foxhound3857]

I suck at Solo-Mage games; I can only play a Mage effectively on a team.

For the Rogue, try not to bother with cosmetic spells like Mana Shield and Stone Curse. Get your mag to 17 so you can learn Heal (wait until floors 1-8 are clear for potential Eerie shrines), and if you really feel the need, get it to 20 before Leo so you have a more reasonable weapon against him. Hug walls at all times, never turn corners quickly, and use happy feet against ranged attackers.