![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Diablo Apocalypse
At ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ethesis' suggestion, I tried switching out the equipment on my D1 solo sorcerer. I bought a Bountiful Staff of Apocalypse (36 charges) from the witch, replacing my sword and shield.
I was surprised at the results.
My sorc had already beaten Diablo at Hell difficulty, but it had been a bit tedious; lots of Stone Cursing and beating things to death with the help of my golem. Triple-immunes (i.e. creatures immune to all three types of spell damage) in particular were a HUGE pain.
What I didn't know what that A) Apocalypse works on triple-immunes, and B) Apocalypse works through walls, and even in sealed rooms - with certain exceptions.
What that means is that I was able to clear out Hell/Hell with astonishing speed. On the final level, all I had to do was go up against the walls of the three sealed areas and Apocalypse until the monsters inside stopped flaming (which meant, of course, that they were dead). I had to go back to town for a staff recharge every so often, of course, but I was able to polish off huge numbers of enemies without any danger at all. It was interesting to watch the experience points zooming upward when I cast the spell; it almost seemed too fast for the program to keep up.
The open northern room was a bit more difficult, but even there I was able to pre-destroy a lot of enemies by getting up against the northern wall of the west room and using Apocalypse. Plus the spell was very useful when I waded in, of course. Combined with the golem, there was no threat at all.
The only exceptions to the spell were certain sealed-room uniques. For example, the Warlord of Blood; I was able to destroy all the other monsters in the room before I opened it, but although he himself flamed each time I cast Apocalypse, he was obviously immune to its effects until I opened the room and went close enough to activate him.
Diablo was also immune before the room was opened, although no other monster with him was. In that case I cast Infravision; it was interesting to watch the creatures inside flaming and dying. After I opened the room, I led Diablo on the traditional chase into the spiral maze and teleported out at the last minute, leaving him trapped. Then I went back to town, got a full charge on the staff, and went just far enough into the maze to affect him with the Apocalypse. It took 17 charges to kill him, although he may have still had some damage from a few Guardians when I led him in.
All of this sounds about as sportsmanlike as a Dick Cheney hunting party, I must say!
Having pretty much exhausted the possibilities of solo play, I decided to try the same technique on Battle.net - yes, I was bored at the time and had too much time on my hands (tick-tick-tick ticking away).
I wasn't able to pick up a Plentiful or Bountiful staff of Apocalypse, but I was able to find an Archangels Staff of Apocalypse with ten charges. Haven't had a chance to test it out much yet, though.
ethesis' suggestion, I tried switching out the equipment on my D1 solo sorcerer. I bought a Bountiful Staff of Apocalypse (36 charges) from the witch, replacing my sword and shield.I was surprised at the results.
My sorc had already beaten Diablo at Hell difficulty, but it had been a bit tedious; lots of Stone Cursing and beating things to death with the help of my golem. Triple-immunes (i.e. creatures immune to all three types of spell damage) in particular were a HUGE pain.
What I didn't know what that A) Apocalypse works on triple-immunes, and B) Apocalypse works through walls, and even in sealed rooms - with certain exceptions.
What that means is that I was able to clear out Hell/Hell with astonishing speed. On the final level, all I had to do was go up against the walls of the three sealed areas and Apocalypse until the monsters inside stopped flaming (which meant, of course, that they were dead). I had to go back to town for a staff recharge every so often, of course, but I was able to polish off huge numbers of enemies without any danger at all. It was interesting to watch the experience points zooming upward when I cast the spell; it almost seemed too fast for the program to keep up.
The open northern room was a bit more difficult, but even there I was able to pre-destroy a lot of enemies by getting up against the northern wall of the west room and using Apocalypse. Plus the spell was very useful when I waded in, of course. Combined with the golem, there was no threat at all.
The only exceptions to the spell were certain sealed-room uniques. For example, the Warlord of Blood; I was able to destroy all the other monsters in the room before I opened it, but although he himself flamed each time I cast Apocalypse, he was obviously immune to its effects until I opened the room and went close enough to activate him.
Diablo was also immune before the room was opened, although no other monster with him was. In that case I cast Infravision; it was interesting to watch the creatures inside flaming and dying. After I opened the room, I led Diablo on the traditional chase into the spiral maze and teleported out at the last minute, leaving him trapped. Then I went back to town, got a full charge on the staff, and went just far enough into the maze to affect him with the Apocalypse. It took 17 charges to kill him, although he may have still had some damage from a few Guardians when I led him in.
All of this sounds about as sportsmanlike as a Dick Cheney hunting party, I must say!
Having pretty much exhausted the possibilities of solo play, I decided to try the same technique on Battle.net - yes, I was bored at the time and had too much time on my hands (tick-tick-tick ticking away).
I wasn't able to pick up a Plentiful or Bountiful staff of Apocalypse, but I was able to find an Archangels Staff of Apocalypse with ten charges. Haven't had a chance to test it out much yet, though.