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[hoopsguy]

The web-throwing Arachnids are called Deathspinners. There are a couple of encounters where there are 3-4 of them, each casting webs and throwing poison bombs. I'm just not well constructed for that type of encounter. Fleeing, potions, sniping with arrows, and eventually battling with my spear is the formula. It is not exciting, but it is pretty successful.

The spiders are dropping a ton of items. I'm not able to make use out of their Arachnid items (Strength too low), including armor, helmets, leggings. But I do find a ring that looks potentially interesting. The Protective Loop of Life:
14% Cold Resist
+131 Health
Requirement: Level 8
Only problem here is that both rings are bolstering stats (Strength and Intelligence, going from memory) by at least +7. So adding the health would be really helpful, but it will probably involve juggling items around.

[hoopsguy]

Did I mention that there is a lot of loot in this cave? I'm up over 50K in gold at this point, and making continuous runs back to town to shuttle Arachnos items to the merchant in Sparta. I decide it is time to start better managing the inventory, so I teleport back to Helos to see the Caravan driver. I unload all my relics and my arcane formula, clearing up another 7-8 inventory slots.

The cave is completed after taking down about ten spiders in the northern tip. But SonOfSquid is on a mission and is looking to either entirely clear the cave or ding Level 8, whichever comes first. After that, it will be back to the water nymph to work out a payment plan for services rendered.

[hoopsguy]

New find - Tainted Knife:
7-11 Damage, 15% Piercing, Very Fast
33 Poison Damage over 6 seconds

DPS jumps a couple of points with this, but I can't use either my helm or my bracers at this point. I have a backup set of bracers that fit the bill and decide I'm going to make a go of this without the helmet. I think my equipment may need an overhaul anyway, so may as well start now. Besides, I cannot use this helm with my bow anyway (staff was giving an INT boost).

That theory works out initially, as SonOfSquid (SOS) mauls a set of spiders. It is pretty satisfying seeing a poof of green appear on my foes and know that they are losing health even when I'm falling back. There is a majestic chest beyond this group and it reveals the third piece of the Valor of Achilles. That will give me a complete set! Time to see what this looks like and if I want to consider slotting it.

Essence of the Valor of Achilles:
Can enchant any weapon
5 Damage
+12% Attack Speed
+10% Damage (completion bonus)

Love it. I'm going to hold off until Level 8 to do anything with this, as I think I'm going to be shuffling weapons. But the minute I have a weapon that I think should stick around for a few levels I'll be using this and reveling in the jump in DPS.

[hoopsguy]

I finish clearing out the spiders, then go see the Nymph. Nice reward: +75 Health, bringing our total to 410. The experience reward is enough to hit Level 8. I'm going to be looking at overhauling my equipment, but if I want to use the -10% Requirement boots then I will need one more point of INT to make it work since that requires 58. I'm getting 7 points from a ring, so I either need a ring with +8 INT or to equip a second item that will get me there. That is a matter for another day, as I'm wrapped up for now.

Note - many of the reductions this time around are due to the helm not being equipped (also requires 58 INT) and not having a replacement item.

Level 8:
Health: 410 (+75), 461 w/bow (+126)
Energy: 300
Strength: 60 (-9)
Intelligence: 57 (-5)
Dexterity: 75 (+4)

Resist Cold 23, Pierce 9, everything else 0

DPS: 22 (+3)/17 (+5)
Combined Armor: 42 (-14)
Block %/Damage: 8% 36 damage

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 2.00 (-.29)

Offensive Ability: 91 (+4)
Defensive Ability: 109 (+4)

Greatest Killed: still Nessus
Monsters Killed: 836 (+225)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 33
Total Deaths: 2
Gold: 60,907 (+41,363)

[gi]

If you want the game really challenging, make all scroll purchases part of your 3 purchase rule. If you do that, save the scrolls for the big bosses. You'll need them

[hoopsguy]

The land to the NE of the city is called Arcadia. I find a Battle Marker, and go looking for monsters while filled with blood lust. I find a handful in a Satyr hero who has shaman powers, tons of health, and a number of cronies. Nope, can't just wade in and kill all of them even with the Battle Marker backing it up. I retreat, then take out the posse in smaller numbers before returning to finish off the Satyr hero. Other than that, there are a few crows, harpies, and Satyrs in this region. Megara Bluff is the next territory.

More Satyrs here initially. I'm starting to feel pretty underpowered, as it is taking me about seven hits per Elite Satyr to grant them a dirt nap. I'm used to 2-3 for the rank-and-file enemies. The net of this is that they get a lot more shots to hit me, which is very bad news in mob situations.

Behind a large Satyr camp is a descent onto a beach. I guess this is where the "Bluff" part of the territory name comes from. Based on the views from above, I'm about to start seeing some different foes.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by gi

If you want the game really challenging, make all scroll purchases part of your 3 purchase rule. If you do that, save the scrolls for the big bosses. You'll need them

I probably will. But right now the game still feels pretty manageable. I'm annoyed with the two deaths, as I think I could have gotten along at this point OK if I had just gotten the health bonus from the nymph. I don't know how much further I would have reasonably gotten (maybe a turtle death? curious to see how hard they hit me) but I think it is possible that I would have gotten to the skeleton princes, which would have had me at Level 10-11, I'm guessing.

The problem with the scroll's as purchases are that they also act as part of items. I do not think that you get scrolls as drops, although they are sometimes rewards for completing missions. So if I want to complete my artifact while in Greece then I would probably have to burn one of my three purchases on the scroll.

On the topic of purchases, with my wealth now above 60K I can consider making purchases of magic items. The cheapest magic items I've found are in the 4K range, although most that I would consider (and potentially use) are in the 10-25K range. So I'm probably a level or two away from being able to think about a purchase to help SonOfSquid along.

[hoopsguy]

I'm now in the Megara Coast. As I descend down the hill towards the beach I see lizard men milling about. These are known as Ichthians. I learn that they fight about as effectively as Satyrs, although the fish-beasts have an annoying habit of running when they are injured.

I find a pack of undead and take death #3. Two undead assassins are in the group and they are fast and pack a wallop. Sigh - that was a bummer. I just went in a little too close, drew too many opponents, and slightly underestimated how badly those guys would hurt me.

So, pick a spell or a point in Intelligence to open up some options for equipment?

[hoopsguy]

I select Ensnare. This is what the Satyr trappers have; cast a net on your opponent. The net does 15 points of damage and holds for 3 seconds (values rise as you put more points into it), which should allow me to escape guys like the Assassins that just made life tough on me. That three seconds of breathing room will provide time for another potion, or an opportunity to get a couple of bow shots in.

[hoopsguy]

Ensnare is a huge get, as it proves valuable right away. Assassins, Captains, and a new set of undead. These are slow-moving drowned sailors who stand guard on coastal treasure. If they get close enough to hit, watch out. But I'm able to retreat, throw ensnares, and basically stick-and-move around them. That won't work nearly as well if they have backup from archers or faster moving skeletons, but I'm fine against them when I can isolate them.

I've quickly reached the conclusion that anything worth killing is better killed while Ensnared. Stuff like Festering Zombies do not hurt me when I take them down with arrows from afar, but it is faster when they are in a net and I do not have to move as much. Ditto the dead sailors, who upon closer inspection are actually Wraiths. Ichthian Shamans? Yep, may as well put a net on them to keep them from running and have some cumulative damage while I finish them off with my blade.

[hoopsguy]

I find a natural cave, and with it get my first encounter with Snapping Turtles. These guys hit me for somewhere around 70 points of damage from up close and are hard for me to hurt with my weapons. Ugh - not going to like fighting these guys in the least. Hope that I do not see many of them for awhile.

There are Ichthians and minor demons in here. Past the demons is a majestic chest that sprays out six or so magic items. Life is good, although I'm hoping to find a higher level item sometime soon.

The item hierarchy is this:
Yellow - common magic items
Green - rarer, have multiple magical properties
Blue - unique items, lots of benefits but cannot be slotted like Yellow/Green
Purple - legendary items, basically Blue on Roids

There are also item sets which can be used together for extra benefits. I'm a long way from Purple and still far off from item sets, but I've already found on Blue (short blade that I cannot use until Level 11) and I think a Green item is realistic sometime soon.

[hoopsguy]

New find - Pupil's Crude Buckler of Strength
8% chance to block 36 damage
+12 Strength
+52 Energy

This would replace my current buckler, which gives boosts to cold and offensive ability. But the strength bonus gets me to 72, which should open up a few new items down the road. I'll just have to be aware that this could cause problems between being equipped with my short-range and long-range weapons, since I will not have a +12 bonus. Can't use shield + bow together. Bottom line - do not get in sustained up-close battles with a bow. Duh.

[hoopsguy]

Well, I've gotten a ton of spitting turtles out on the coast. They are long battles, but it is possible to run around 3 of them at a time, throwing nets and gobbling up potions. Just as long as it is only turtles and not mixed groups, it is doable.

Level 9 arrives during one such Sea Turtle battle.
Health: 484 (+74)
Energy: 300
Strength: 72 (+12)
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 71 (-4)

Resist Cold 13 (-10), Pierce 9, all others 0

DPS: 21 (-1)/17
Combined Armor: 64 (+22)
Block%/Damage: 8% block 36 Damage

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.78 (-.22)

Offensive Ability: 71 (-20) - less likely to hit, do critical hits up close
Defensive Ability: 105 (-4)

Greatest Killed: Drusil Thornweaver - Satyr Hero
Monsters Killed: 1042 (+206)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 33
Total Deaths: 3 (+1)
Gold: 79,814 (+18,907)

Equipped:
Tainted Knife
Bronze Reinforced Helm (non-magical)
Pupil's Crude Buckler of Strength
Centaur's Cuirass
Embossed Armbands of Endurance
Hardened Wraps of Ability
Band of Brawn
Protective Loop of Insight
Beads of Agility

[Alan T]

What are scroll purchases? I don't think that I have seen those before.

[hoopsguy]

Alan, I think the scrolls may be an expansion pack addition. But you should start seeing them in Tegea (I do not think Sparta has them, but I have not visited the magic-based merchant). Scrolls are a one-shot item that provides a very strong short-term benefit for a limited time. Here is a look at the one I need for my artifact (Scroll of Arcane Power).
- 90 second duration
- 15 Elemental Damage
- +40 Energy per second
+ +100% Casting Speed

So that scroll basically supercharges a spell-caster, allowing him to attack twice as fast, recover energy very rapidly, and deliver additional damage.

[hoopsguy]

The town of Megara has pretty much every shop you could ask for. I check on the Caravan guy, who is now holding about ten partially assembled relics and my arcane formula. It is 10,000 to get additional space. I'll be able to afford that within my 10% rule sometime soon, but I've got plenty of space here for now.

I learn of a rumor of a Cyclops outside of town. What is not a rumor is that the town is under assault from undead. This shows up as a side quest. I later learn that there are three skeleton princes among the undead that will prove to be challenging foes. The skeleton princes are in a ruins named Old Eleusis.

A sailor tells us of his ship that wrecked nearby. Treasure awaits. Another side quest.

Timon, the oligarch of Megara, lets us know that the Oracle of Delphi will accept a branch from the sacred olive tree. That tree can be found on the road to Delphi, above the Helicos Pass. This updates the main quest.

So, lots to do coming out of Megara. Guess I'll start by heading north out of town and checking out Old Eleusis. I'm pretty concerned about my welfare against the three princes.

[Alan T]

Sounds like I am missing alot by not having the expansion.. I'm also in Megara and it doesn't have half the stuff you talk about for me.

[hoopsguy]

The Megara outskirts have some very challenging Satyr encounters. Normally this would be an oxymoron, but with this character it is not. There are a pair of Satyr Brutes along with a collection of archers, and they really make it tough for me to retreat, take potions, and slow down the incoming forces. The Brutes move well enough and hit like a ton of bricks. I had to retreat back into the city walls, allowing the guards to help me dispose of these guys. Not a proud moment, but you do what you have to.

Next up was a group of zombies, skeletal archers, and poisonous crows. None of these was all that challenging, as the snare, shoot, retreat strategy was used time and time again. That led to the outskirts of the Kerata Woods, which is where I'll find Old Eleusis.

We fight off some deathspinners (spiders) before finding a few men near the water. It looks like the bridge to Athens is out, courtesy of a Cyclops. Well, no matter since Delphi is my next stop. After I finish clearing out these ruins, of course.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by Alan T

Sounds like I am missing alot by not having the expansion.. I'm also in Megara and it doesn't have half the stuff you talk about for me.

All the side quests should be there. Other stuff comes from talking to everyone in the town. You won't find the following without the expansion in Megara:
- Caravan (help offload inventor)
- Guy who combines items based on formulas. He can also unslot an item from a weapon, but it destroys the weapon in the process. And it costs a lot of gold to do this.

[Alan T]

So I'll likely buy the expansion today and install it. I think I'll re-start over. Do you play as a single player game character, or do you play a multiplayer character by yourself?

[hoopsguy]

Just outside Old Eleusis I encounter one of the scariest monsters at this point in the game. Limos. It is a demon that steals health from you. He has a decent amount of health to start with, and then he starts taking yours in big chunks. I'm not able to hurt him enough with the bow, so I eventually wade in with my blade and fight him up close, throwing nets on him at every chance. I think it took 3-4 potions along the way to best one of them. Now picture a pair of these guys charging me, with a bunch of minor demons along for the ride as well. That is going to be a royal pain in the butt.

There are a slew of undead guarding the entrance, but nothing that I havne't seen before or that I can't handle. I'm expecting to see some good loot in here if I'm able to best the princes. The ruins start off by throwing some ankle-biter demons at me. Good thing that there were no Limos along with them. They attack in numbers, forcing me to use a few potions in dispatching them.

I clear out all the areas surrounding the first prince, the one who specializes in the bow. I had a very brief encounter with him and learned that he fires very fast and delivers a lot of damage. Ideally I would like to wade in and maul him, but I don't think I have enough health to be able to do that. Moving around and firing on him plays to his strengths. So I'm not really sure how I'm going to tackle him.

[hoopsguy]

Originally Posted by Alan T

So I'll likely buy the expansion today and install it. I think I'll re-start over. Do you play as a single player game character, or do you play a multiplayer character by yourself?

I've always done it single player, but I think I can then take him into multi-player as well, right? It has been a long, long time since I tried MP ... going back about two years now.

If you are in Megara I do not think you have lost out on all that much if you wanted to continue your current character. The install of the expansion pack will import your current characters.

[hoopsguy]

The answer ends up being the same way I deal with most others - snare, arrows from range, lots of potions, run when in danger. I just have to retreat from him more than most others. I had 11 potions for my first run and got him down to about 15% health remaining but had to teleport back to the city for more potions. He was at full health on my return. It took 13 potions before victory on the 2nd run. One down, two to go.

Although there is quite a bit of treasure, I'm not able to use any of it. The low stats issue is starting to really manifest itself. I looked through the items available at the weapons shop in Megara and there was a total of one item across blades, bows, and armor where I met the minimum requirements to use. On the positive side, getting to Megara appears to have opened up my inventory to where I can now carry twice as much stuff. So I do not need to teleport back to towns quite so often.

[hoopsguy]

Two princes down, as I swamp the one who specializes in magic. Prior to running into him, I encountered my first "trap". These are large devices that spray damage in all directions. The first one I saw was a fire trap, with the second one (right by the skeleton prince) was a blade trap.

The skeleton prince did not play all that well. He had his minions with him, and they were all lined up behind the blade trap. You can avoid the trap by staying in areas that are outside of its range, but if you drift too far to the right or to the left you will get hit. The traps emit damage every five seconds, give or take, so it is a nuisance to fight opponents while dodging the trap. But the prince chased me outside the range of the trap. From there, the prince had a cold attack with an area affect; if you stayed put in the area you kept sustaining damage. But that was the only new trick, and the prince fell pretty easily. He also dropped our first green item, although I cannot make use of it.

Light Carved Staff of Frost:
12-19 Cold Damage
Speed: Slow
+9% Cold Damage
6 Cold Damage
+1.0 Energy Regen/sec
-9% Requirements
Requirements to use: INT 110

[hoopsguy]

Third prince dead; that went better than I thought it would. The last one was a master of close combat, but honestly he was not that intimidating. He had a shield charge, where he could run up very quickly to deliver a blow. I believe it also stunned when it landed. But beyond that, all he did was deliver hard hits. Snare, retreat, potion, repeat. And that clears out Old Eleusis. Can you say "overrated"? SonOfSquid can.

[hoopsguy]

After leaving Old Eleusis I clear out the remainder of the forest. I'm still a little shy of Level 10 and would like to have it before moving on, but you can't always get what you want. There is a bridge and on the other side are a few armed men. I teleport back to town and pick up 50 health potions, knowing that the coming battle will by far be the toughest one yet for this character. So far I'm managed to best all of the "elite" foes, but the one up ahead is an entirely different animal.

[hoopsguy]

CYCLOPS! 44 potions before dying, and I had knocked him down to maybe 35% overall health. OK, I need to be able to more effectively hurt him than I did here. Time to figure out how to best spend my one point.

Spell: Takedown
- 30 Energy cost
- 25 Piercing Damage
- 8% Reduction of Enemy Health
- +300% Movement

The % of Health is sorely needed here. I have to equip a spear, which forces me to juggle around my equipment, but this is pretty important for fighting something like the Cyclops who has a ton of health.

[hoopsguy]

Death #2 to the Cyclops (#5 overall) is a total fluke, as I get stuck and can't move while the Cyclops hits me. The space to fight him is pretty confined, but I'm not going to take another point just yet. I want to fight him again and see how this measures up.

[hoopsguy]

It took 77 potions and about fifteen minutes of battle, but the Cyclops is dead. The ensnare did not work at all on him; I do not think it works against giant creatures. The Cyclops has two special attacks. The first is a scream that acts like a cone attack. If you are in the cone it disrupts your actions and slows you. The second is a shockwave following his club banging on the ground. That delivers about 200 points of damage. If you are in close combat he hits from somewhere in the 75-125 range with his club each time. Obviously this is a big concern for SonOfSquid.

The strategy was to stay out of reach, let him burn his two specials, and then close with the Takedown. The 300% movement in the description above is while you are charging to deliver the blow with the spear. Once there, stick around to trade blows until health is below 300. At that point, get out since the Cyclops can stun + deliver 200 damage in a fairly quick combo every once in awhile. It took forever, but the giant monster is dead. Oh, and SonOfSquid is now Level 10. Guess who is the toughest monster killed now?

[hoopsguy]

Health: 434
Energy: 352 (+52)
Strength: 78 (+6)
Intelligence: 62 (+5)
Dexterity: 71

Resist Cold 13, all others 0 (lost 9% on Pierce)
DPS: 19 (-2)/17
Combined Armor: 67 (+3)
Block%/Damage: 8% block 36 damage

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 2.02 (+.24)

Offensive Ability: 71
Defensive Ability: 87 (-18)

Greatest Killed: Polyphemus - Cyclops
Monsters Killed: 1325 (+283)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 52 (+19)
Total Deaths: 5 (+2)
Gold: 119,447 (+39,633)

I'm considering buying a weapon to replace the crappy spear that I got when I was level 2 that is now equipped. I have a decent mace that will raise the DPS up to 26, but I lose out on the Takedown attack with it, and would also have to reshuffle my other items. So my needs right now are twofold:
1.) Replace current spear with better spear
2.) Find a way to make up one point in INT to avoid excessive rejuggling of gear

There is a pretty good chance I'll put a point in INT on my next death just to get around this annoyance.

[hoopsguy]

Onto the Halycon Coast. We are back near the water, which reminds me to keep my eyes peeled for a shipwreck. One new monster that I'm pretty sure is going to give us trouble, is Maenids. These are blue catpeople, best I can tell. They move quickly, their archers do good damage, and they have several specialists. We have seen their sorcerers, who call down lightning. There are also hunters that set traps that do substantial damage. They attack in packs and are at least as fast as I am.

[hoopsguy]

The shipwreck is very close by. Lots of loot to sell, nothing new I can use. Only had to go through three turtles and nine wraiths to get the chests.

Death #6 comes to Ichthians. A couple of casters, some other guys who fought me up close. I did not do a good job on that fight, but I'm still going to take a point to buff up the character in keeping with the dynasty rules. SonOfSquid needs to be able to get a little better equipment in order to move these fights along a tad more quickly.

[hoopsguy]

Spell - Wood Lore:
+10% Defensive Ability
+5% Attack Speed

This will increase damage and make SonOfSquid hit a tad less often in close quarters. Hopefully this is somewhat meaningful.

I also switch to the Chilling Ball Mace, which deals 25 DPS, instead of the spear. I'll forego the Takedown attack against the masses, opting for the better damage. And, since I haven't had much luck with getting better weapons due to requirements I decide to break out the Valor of Achilles relic and slot it in the weapon. DPS jumps to 35. So I'm going to be using this weapon for awhile.

Chilling Ball Mace (w/Valor of Achilles):
13-28 Damage
Speed: Slow
2-5 COld Damage
5 Damage
+12% Attack Speed
+10% Damage

Hopefully it is not taking 7-10 hits per enemy in close quarters with this DPS.

[gi]

Originally Posted by hoopsguy

I've always done it single player, but I think I can then take him into multi-player as well, right? It has been a long, long time since I tried MP ... going back about two years now.

If you are in Megara I do not think you have lost out on all that much if you wanted to continue your current character. The install of the expansion pack will import your current characters.

All characters can be used locally or in multiplayer. Makes it easy.

[hoopsguy]

Along the coast there is a natural cave. It looks like a giant mouth with jagged teeth coming out of the mountain wall. Who can resist exploring that? Inside there are a few turtles but mostly every kind of Ichthian you can imagine. There is also the first green item for SonOfSquid:

Hardy Ring of Agility:
+8% Strength
+6 Dexterity
+5% Health
Requirement: Level 11

So once I ding Level 11 that will replace the Band of Brawn, which gives +8 Strength. The Strength, for now, will be about a push, but the Dex and Health make this a good upgrade. The fact that the Strength will scale (growth by percentage, not flat number) makes it that much better.

[hoopsguy]

Boetia - the blue cats are here. And so is Death #7, when a sorcerer brings down lightning for about 200 damage. Ouch - did not see that kind of damage coming. I can potentially equip some damage to help deal with lightning, but I'm not sure if there is any point expenditure that is going to go a long ways in making sure this does not happen again. For now, I'll just sink another point into Hunter mastery. That will give some health, as well as a point to STR and three to DEX.

[hoopsguy]

All through Boetia I am harassed by the damn cats. I did confirm that the lightning does about 250 damage. I simply cannot allow that to hit, as it is extremly bad for SonOfSquid's lifespan.

After clearing this territory there is a bridge that leads into the Ambrossos Farmlands. Here are Centaurs, Satyrs, Boars, and other wildlife. There is a new Centaur type, a leader who plants a flag into the ground to inspire his men. I simply cannot stand up to them when near the flag; retreat is imperative.

There are other Centaurs that cast a spell leaving a green eye above my character. It seems that SonOfSquid is more suscpetible to damage over the duration of this spell, although I'm not sure that is the case. I just do not recognize the spell, so I'm not clear on the impact.

[hoopsguy]

The centaurs and bores here push SonOfSquid hard, requiring the same old 10+ hits to get a kill. This is not leaving a ton of margin for error.

Deep into the fields I encounter a Centaur who does not try to kill me. His name is Chiron, and he seems awfully cerebral for a Centaur. He tells us that a Maenad (cat person) stole his bow and is now hiding in a cave. He asks us to retrieve it for him. There is a death in that cave, as we are overwhelmed by the Maenad specialists. We saw a new weapons specialist that cut us to pieces. This is getting tedious because I do not know what to fix with just spending one point at a time.

[hoopsguy]

I dump another point into the Hunter mastery, bringing me to three points in that track. At four points several new spells will be available. Each spell has a variable amount of points that can be spent on it, ranging from 6-16 (going from memory here). Up to this point I've only put one point in the spells I've selected.

SonOfSquid finishes off the maenad priestess. Normally, when I'm not playing house rules this is a super-easy mission. But for Squid it takes a couple of potions to finish off the priestess. No big deal, Chiron gets his bow back and grants an extra two attribute points that I will not spend. Level 11 arrives, so time to see where we are at.

Health: 581 (+97)
Energy: 352
Strength: 78
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 82 (+11)

Resist Cold 13, all other resists are 0
DPS: 35/19 (+16/+2)
Combined Armor: 67
Block%/Damage: 8% to block 36 damage

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.97 (-.05)

Offensive Ability: 82 (+11)
Defensive Ability: 98 (+11)

Greatest Kill: Polyphemus - Cyclops
Monsters Killed: 1565 (+240)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 53 (+1)
Total Deaths: 8 (+3)
Gold: 170,708 (+50,261)

So five deaths over the last two levels. I just have not been able to stop the bleeding with spending points on spells and overall hunter mastery. I think I need to upgrade gear. I'm now at enough cash (10% rule means I have about 17K to spend) that I might be able to find something to replace my armor. I'll be looking for that actively from here on out.

[hoopsguy]

I arrive in the village of Ambrossos after leaving Chiron. It is a small village, with only a single merchant. However, there is other news here:

1.) There is a master blacksmith out in the country that we should visit (side quest)
2.) A merchant was attacked nearby and abandoned his goods (another side quest)

Helicos Valley is full of Centaurs and Satyrs. One of them leaves a very interesting item that is going to have to sit in inventory for awhile.

Annulling Necklace of Life:
11% Elemental Resist (Fire, Ice, Electric)
+98 Health
Requirements: Level 18

[hoopsguy]

Across from Helicos Valley is Helicos Pass. Here is where the sacred grove is that holds the olive tree that we need for the offering. One problem - the grove is on fire. Apparently the Satyrs have been acting up here as well. We'll see if there is anything that we can salvage.

I don't know about Satyrs, but the place is just littered with spiders of every size. And when I say "every size" I mean it, as there is a monstrous spider in back that drops a death on SonOfSquid. Getting some poison resist items would be really helpful here. This is going to be a very tough fight. Different than the Cyclops, but maybe harder because as of right now I have no real plan for how to deal with this creature.

[hoopsguy]

Plan A - move ahead a little bit, see if I can find some kind of item that will help with resisting poison. And that sort of works, as I complete the "abandoned goods" sidequest. Lots of undead guarding the chests, lots of items, but nothing that fits for the task at hand.

I've got one more upgrade that is allowed here but I do not know what to use it on. Well, I've got a two step plan that might work. I'll try to live here after putting my 4th point into hunting mastery, but if I die then I can put one point into a spell that grants 30% Poison resist. The spell, along with a couple of others, became available after spending the 4th point on the mastery.

[hoopsguy]

Death #2 to the spider is very disappointing. I had burned through maybe 80 potions, getting a quick hit-and-run in for 2-5 hits before the spider summoned the three child spiders and dropped a poison spot on me. The poison spot just tears the health up like nobodies business. Anyway, once the three little spiders were loose, it was time to retreat to the point where Momma spider would no longer pursue. Knock off the little guys, drink a potion as I ran in, and do the same thing all over again. I had the spider down to about 35% of overall health before getting stuck in the poison spot for a little too long and having the poison knock off health faster than the potion restored it.

Time for a new spell that should be extremely timely.
Herbal Remedy:
Energy Cost - 35
3 minute duration
+3 Health Regen/sec
30% Poison Resistance

[hoopsguy]

And the Herbal Remedy is huge, as SonOfSquid is able to engage about twice as long during each run. The spider falls, and leaves behind a really, really nice item.

Deahweaver's Legtip (green weapon):
18-22 Damage, 20% Piercing, Fast
60 Poison Damage over 6 seconds
5% chance of 244% Poison Damage
3-6 Piercing Damage
+16 Offensive Ability

DPS jumps about 10 points. Hmm, may have to look into unslotting the old weapon as this one blows it away. I kind of regret slotting it, but I cannot imagine how much tougher this fight would have been with having 10 less DPS on my attacks. Using the spear would have been another option (-8% of health on strike) but it would have required a lot of juggling and the other 4-5 swings would have been for 17 DPS.

Oh well, these are good problems to have.

[hoopsguy]

It costs nearly 46,000 to have the Achilles item removed. That is promptly slotted into the Deathweaver's Legtip, with a net impact of moving DPS from 35 to 60. Huge jump, should make a very meaningful difference in facing foes up close. Now to work on a better ranged attack ... would love to be able to deliver even 30 from afar. With the difference right now I'm going to be tempted to fight everything up close even with my somewhat frail health.

[hoopsguy]

As a point of comparison, my spellcaster in the original thread at Level 11 did not have anything that delivered close to the DPS that this weapon delivers. That character, while spending all of the points when they were available, thus allowing significantly better equipment (playing original game, not expansion pack) had a DPS of 34 upon hitting Level 11. Or just about the same as SonOfSquid. But by level 13 that character had a staff, slotted with the same relic, that did 60 damage.

So my gimped character looks like it could match up favorably with the non-gimped one, at least across some metrics. I think part of it is the expansion pack offering more diversity in items (greater flexibility for me to make good decisions) and part of it is me understanding the internals of the game a little bit better.

[hoopsguy]

The new weapon is everything I hoped it would be and more, as it cuts through Satyrs and Boars like a TV-offer-knife through aluminum cans.

The next region is called the Phocian Swamps. Here we find a few Ichthians and a ton of turtles. Just about every one of the turtles leaves a turtle shell relic behind, and we are able to assemble five of them to complete this item.

Turtle Shell (slotted in shields)
+5% Shield Block
-5% Shield Recovery Time
+5 Strength

This is not going to be a game-changer item for me. I'm leaning towards slotting it on my current shield, bringing that rating up to +17. The alternative is finding a better shield, and having a delta of 7 on the strength. For now, I'll just keep it on hand to see what develops.

[hoopsguy]

A Satyr Brute is charitable and leaves us a necklace that looks like a keeper.

Protective Necklace of Agility:
17% Cold Resist
+10 Dexterity (jump of +3)

Shortly after getting this item the swamps come to an end, signaling the start of the Lower Delphi region.

[hoopsguy]

The save point in Lower Delphi must not have taken, as I'm back in the swamps. And dying to Ichthians. I learned something with this one; having the volume down is not conducive to playing well. The audio cues (there is a sound when you drop below 25% of health) are definitely helpful for me. So the volume goes back up and the Ichthians are set down with vigor. Ding Level 12.

Health: 618 (+37)
Energy: 352
Strength: 81 (+3)
Intelligence: 57
Dexterity: 88 (+6)

Resist Cold 30 (+17), all others zero

DPS: 60/19 (+25/0)
Combined Armor: 67
Block%/Damage: 8% chance block 36

Health Regen: 1.00
Energy Regen: 1.97

Offensive Ability: 104 (+22)
Defensive Ability: 104 (+6)

Greatest Monster Killed: Polyphemus - Cyclops (hmm, thought Spider was very tough as well)
Monsters Killed: 1935 (+370)
Greatest Damage Dealt: 53 - no change, which means that the Takedown attack (25 Pierce, 8% health) does more damage in a single strike against a huge health opponent than my current weapon. Reminds me that I still need to consider upgrading my spear
Total Deaths: 11 (+3) - one fluky one this time, with the other two coming to the Spider. I'm trying to tighten up on the dumb stuff, but not off to a great start this AM
Gold: 154,049 (-16,659) - first time we have lost gold, basically because of shelling out 46K to move the Achilles item between weapons

Equipment:
Deathweaver's Legtip w/Achilles Valor *
Tough Garland of Brawn
Pupil's Crude Buckler of Strength
Centaur's Cuirass (damn old item at this point)
Embossed Armbands of Endurance
Light Simple Wraps
Hardy Ring of Agility
Protective Loop of Insight (another one I would like to be able to upgrade at some point)
Protective Necklace of Agility *

* = new item this level

[hoopsguy]

I decide to take a little longer look at the swamps and find a hidden cave full of demons. There are some challenging encounters here, including one with two limos and a couple of smaller demons. There are also a pair of Hell Hounds here, and a smattering of bats and spiders. Finally, there is an item that has me drooling but is not going to see action anytime soon.

Veteran's Embossed Suit
36 Armor
10% Damage Resist
+21% Defensive Ability
+19% Chance Avoid Projectiles
Requirements: 126 STR (113 w/10% reduction currently equipped)

Well, I'm about 30 STR away from this, so I guess I'll stash it but I'm pretty sure I'll find better by the time I can think about using this.