Tactics #2
Hell - Act 1 to 4
The first look is for your resists. At the beginning it's o.k. if poison is at 0% and everything else above 20%. In case that you still haven't decided for a second attack you'll need a weapon with much elemental damage in your second slot. Whoever hasn't got TO gloves or good rare/crafts now starts asking the vendors for magic gloves with +3 Javelin as well as another pair with +3 Passive for prebuffing Valk. You'll likely find those at Charsi's or Gheed's before finishing all of Act 1. Specially if you do some Countess, Andy and Mausoleum runs you are easily Level 79 or higher before leaving Act 1.
Even in Hell mobs are mostly One-Hit-Kills if they are not PoisI. If you prefer PlJ you often need two attacks. But which other char accomplishes to finish off normal mobs with so few attacks, wearing crap-equip only?
Act 1
At the beginning all still is quite trouble-free. Shamans and Fallen mostly kneel over with the first cloud. The Den of Evil and Blood Raven are easy. Blood Raven needs some time, but her followers and the Undead she raises from the graves go down in no time. The Mausoleum and Crypt has almost exclusively LIs. The Stony Field comes up with the first PoisI, those flying saucers Foul Crows. They are easily jabbed away. A Javelin with some Eledam is sufficient. Rakanishu and his cronies are a joke, just put a PlJ in his direction and you'll end up with a heap of dead bodies. Also Treehead Woodfist and his friends are no problem. Normally you try to separate them so you just get one or two at the same time. With poison your tactic is different. You cast Decoy in their midst, throw a PlJ and then run around them in a circle to lure some other mobs from further away into the cloud. Now and than you recast Decoy and throw another PlJ. Then wait a while and everyone drops death simultaneously. In the Dark Wood there also are PoisI Skeleton Archers. To defuse them you cast SLM. Decoy drives them apart distracting some. Then you dispose of one after the other. If there happen to be some Corrupt Rogues in the fray you keep your distance, throw some PlJ and wait for them to die before taking care of the PoisI livestock.
Next PoisIs are in Tristram, namely Griswold and some Skeleton Archers and Returned. These Skeletons may get nasty if their boss happens to spawn with Holy Freeze aura. If Griswold spawns PI + PoisI he takes a very long time. With a 48-96 firedam Javelin and Tiamat's I dealt more damage than with LiB. Sadly I found Demon's Arch not until becoming Matriarch.
The Dark Moor awaits with more Returned. They have to be separated again. Everything else is child's play including the Forgotten Tower. With manaburners a high level Decoy pays off. That one point Mana is fast enough regained. Whoever has only a low level Decoy has to take blue drinks before recasting the blocker and throwing more poison.
Let's go to the Tamoe Highland and Monastery Gate. The Highland's Pit as well as the whole Monastery including Outer Cloister and Barracks are simple. The Smith has -50% poison resist. So getting Charsi's Malus is fun. The only PoisI you meet are some subspecies of Blood Hawks and Skeletons. Depending on the number and danger of the mobs you either stay off and use LiB or Jab within the fray. Also the Jail, Inner Cloister, Cathedral and the Catacombs are very easy. And always take a look first. Not all Skeletons you meet are PoisI. :)
After having done a few Andyruns I now use the following tactic. First you clear off all other mobs, so you have only Andy left. When placing Decoy Andy immediately launches into the poor thing. Therefore you keep her busy by constantly recasting Decoy. This gives your Valk and Merc the opportunity to attack Andy unhampered. The Fairy stands a little sideways and uses SLM, PoisJ or PlJ in-between, if the recasting Decoy leaves time enough for this. This method is very safe and fast.
Act 2
Actually Act 2 has the most difficult areas for our Toxic Fairy. Here it is essential to have some poison length reduction for the Maggot Lair. If nothing else you can shop gloves with poison length reduction. Charges with the Necro curses Confuse and Attract are very helpful in the Maggot Lair, too.
There is nothing really difficult within the Sewers and Radament. The PoisI there are easy to defeat. Radament's pack has to be lured away from him. Add some colddam via hireling or the Fairy herself, and Radament has nothing left to raise.
Now it's up into the desert to get sun burnt. The PoisI Carrion Birds in the Rocky Waste luckily have next to no endurance. The same is true for the Dung Soldiers. Within the Stony Tomb there is some PoisI variant of Mummy, the Decayed. They only need a little longer than the Carrion Birds. Next are the Dry Hills. There are no PoisIs.
In Halls of the Dead this is different yet. Besides Fire Towers, which are normally left alone by everyone, there are vast masses of PoisI Mummies and Skeletons continuously getting raised again. If there are only one or two Greater Mummies you can try to sneak past those PoisI and throw a Javelin at the Greater Mummies. If there are more than two or even a whole boss pack of them only the Radament tactic is left. Sometimes the screen is so filled with green clouds, that you'll have difficulties knowing whether something is a PE cloud of a dead Mummy or a cloud belonging to you. With the Mummy Sarcophagus it works quite well to poison the Sarcophagus while luring the Mumies with Decoy's help to one side. Valk often makes use of this and stays next to our Decoy. In the meantime you may work at the Sarcophagus from the other site. All Mummies coming out of it always run to the Decoy.
For all Chars using poison the Far Oasis with its Maggot Lair is plainly horrifying. Well, Death Beetles are no problem. Truly brilliant with poison is those beetles dying without releasing a single Combo Bolt. The Maggots easily become an annoyance due to their number of Young. You can't herd Maggots. So you throw a PlJ wherever there might be some eggs. Additionally you massively make use of SLM and Decoy. You first take care of the outgrown Maggots throwing or using LiB. The Young you leave up to Valk and the hireling. In the Maggot Lair you have all of that again, just more to the extreme. There are far more Maggots and the Rock Worms are a bit harder to kill than Sand Maggots. With only crap weapons, your minions, Poison, LiB and Jab the Maggot Lair is a very lengthy procedure. You'll need ages to work your way through and should plan your gaming time accordingly. Together with a mule char in town it took me about 30 minutes. You don't give the Maggots in Coldworm the Burrowers room time to lay eggs. They are attacked right away. For the Young you use LiB. As soon as Valk has made her way into the room through the Young it'll be noticeably better. Coldworms attendants will likely send you back repeatedly to the city for refilling drinks and Javelins. One time I had Coldworm with AD in single player. After 40 minutes fighting I gave up. With Lucretia_Borgia (second attack Thorns) this Coldworm episode finally was the impulse to decide for Jab with a Zon Spear and investment into Pene as a further attack. With good weaponry the Maggot Lair is quite different. Titan's, Demon's Arch or something rare with IAS and Eledam or great physical damage for LiB works as well as a good two hander.
The Lost City is something to relax a little. In Ancient Tunnels there are Embalmed, another kind of Mummy. In Claw Viper Temple you additionally get Dried Cropses which may be raised by Guardians. Those Undead are protected by Claw Vipers and Salamanders with their charge attacks. Here you need a cunning use of terrain, doors and retreat areas. With the vipers you use the same tactic as with the Dung Soldiers. So you cast Decoy just in front of the vipers and poison them. Then you may watch how the poisoned vipers push Decoy around until they drop dead. Normally you target those PoisI being at loggerheads with Decoy. Also great are doors to place Decoy in, so you can pick at mobs while standing safely behind Decoy. Against Greater Mummies you do the by now customary attack. For luring raiseable mobs away you use Decoy. Whose deployment is crucial against Fangskin? Right, it's Decoy again. As usual you place her so that Vipers and other animals are diverted and wait until one after the other goes down short of breath. Whoever wishes may than go for any leftover Mummies. Personally I always move anti clockwise through the room. I cast SLM and cautiously walk into the line of sight of the first mobs. Then I throw a PlJ in their direction and creep forward again when they are dead. As soon as I see the black star missiles of a Greater Mummy I recast SLM just for safety. When the other mobs are involved with Decoy, I creep around them to defeat the raiser. If there is no safe way to reach him I repeatedly recast Decoy a bit further into his direction. That way I herd them until they are just a bit behind the Greater Mummy.
Do you like to have a Tupper Ware party with the ladies in the Harem? Welcome to the Palace Cellar. Here you find PoisI Horror Archers. They often are accompanied by their relatives, the Horror Mages. These deliver quite a spark of lightning damage and have still 75% poison resist. Despite casting SLM you get hit quite often. So you cast Decoy, then SLM and only then move forward. If there happen to be too many mobs you'll better retreat and poison until there are only Archers left standing. At least they are easy enough diverted by Decoy and Valk, so you can pay off one after the other. Sadly I haven't seen any Ladies of the Harem, instead I found many deceased town guards.
In Arcane Sanctuary you may leave the lightning spires to the minions. They give good exp and are easy to destroy with physical damage. Besides those there are no PoisI here. The Summoner is in Hell no more than a joke. Cast Decoy next to him and he is busy. He will pay for salubrious green air.
Canyon of the Magi is located in the desert with its animal park again. The area is infested by some kinds of Sabre Cats, Slingers and Scarab Demons. Large Wendigo herds wander around. Of course there is another PoisI Maggot kind, Devourers and their Young. They are as weak as their relatives. Tactic is the same one as used in the Far Oasis. In the Tombs you'll find Fire Towers and some Mummies. Preserved Dead and Dried Corpses are by no way as difficult as those Maggots in the Maggot Lair. Great Mummies have to be diverted with Decoy as long as you deal with the other mobs.
Tal Rasha's Chamber is really easy. Here you already believe that Valk can block Duri infinitely. By the way Duri likes Decoy too, even if he doesn't love her as much as Andy does.
Act 3
Here all is far easier than in Act 2. Generally it's only the underground areas that should be taken with a pinch of salt.
In Forrest, Marsh and Jungle only (Blowgun) Soul Killers and some animals are PoisI. The animals are absolutely easy, but the Soul Killers are irritating because you can't herd them. The Great Marsh additionally awaits with some bothersome Undead. The Caves are a bit different. Here the PoisI Bone Fetishs and (Blowgun) Soul Killer may become dangerous. In addition come further PoisI as the from Act 2 known Preserved Dead (Mummy/only in the Swampy Pit) and the Water Watcher (Tentacle Beast). The whole lot gets some finish with Poison Spinners and Giant Lampreys.
All of Kurast and its temples are easy, there are no PoisI. Battlemaid Sarina and Alkor's book are always in the Ruined Temple. If there is a crowd immediately at the temple's entrance, you cast Decoy into one corner, throw a PlJ and hurry up upstairs to catch some clean air. If you have Maek you'll notice the first mobs dying due to your blueish bulb, then you may go back downstairs. After that you clear out the sides and at very last the middle. Cast Decoy for scouting, followed up by SLM or IS, and then use the usual procedure. If you only take some care there will be no worries.
The Sewers are dangerous terrain again; there are many PoisI mobs. It's not only Icehawk Riftwing and his pack (Gloombat) dishing out quite heavily. Also Feeder (PoisI) with their Stamina drain may get problematical, specially if you are just busy with Horadrim Ancients or Undead Soul Killers (PoisI). In the Sewers you always need to take extra care, since it's very complex there. As much as possible use the terrain and throw across water at the other side. With PoisI or Horadrim Ancients you can use LiB. If there happen to appear Soul Killers in front of the Zon she casts Decoy on top of herself and runs a bit back into an already cleared area. Often there is a raising Ancient near those Bone Fetishs. The Fetishs normally busy themselves only shortly with Decoy and then follow the Zon. Then you try to get them one after the other.
In Travincal you first clear the whole map before doing the Council Members. Only the Water Watchers (PoisI) are ignored. If mobs stand upon the gallery, you cast Decoy among them and throw a PlJ. Stay out of reach of the Hydras and wait a bit. Take a look and see whether there are some leftovers and if so, rinse and repeat. In case you have a clear focus through the window, repeat the same with the mobs within the room. If this doesn't work you have to lure one after the other out of the room. This may take a while.
The Durance of Hate is quite large with 1.1x. What an understatement. Cadaver and those blasted Dolls are PoisI. In the Durance they are even more dangerous than in other areas, although in Hell difficulty they don't have an overkill-explosion anymore. In the third Level the Dark Lords are exchanged for Blood Lords. The Bone Fetishs (here not PoisI anymore) may also be there and bring an additional danger. Bremm Sparkfist, Maffer Dragonhand and Wyand Voidbringer are served by other Council Members, all of them LI. In the background lurks Mepple. He takes a while. As soon as he glues himself onto Valk and Decoy you may, depending on your mood resist poke along with them or poison from away.
Act 4
Here another look at your resists would be a good idea. From now on fire and lightning resist ought to be max.
Up onto the first way point Corpulents and Corpse Spitters are the only PoisI. They take a little longer if there happens to be a PI/PoisI boss among them. If you have LR charges or a Necro with you, you may indulge yourself the fun of using PoisJ after piercing the immunity. Izual is childs play as ever.
In the River of Flame you meet additionally PoisI Blood Maggots with their Young, and Maw Fiends. The Maggots, due to sheer numbers, are the more troublesome mobs.
As before boss packs, especially with PI/PoiI bosses, need watching out for. Here a high Decoy really pays off.
Hephasto The Armorer is blessed with a healthy poison resistance of 0. Depending on his aura and company you need to keep more or less distance. One time I had a combination of AD and Fana aura, so a high distance was asked for.
The large masses of Maggots on the way to the Chaos Sanctuary are really annoying. As soon as you reach the CS there are no regular PoisI any more. The Venom Lords just have a high resistance. Contrary to Nightmare they are only Fire Immune in Hell.
As predicted Act 4 is no problem with enough resists. The Venom Lords are easy as well as the since 1.10 castrated deSeis and the Grand Vizier. Of course you keep your distance until the crowd has thinned out a bit. Even if you cast Decoy as much as possible just in front of the Oblivion Knights, you can't prevent Valk form getting IM once in a while. Then you have to recast her, Valk just makes to much damage to survive IM. To defeat Diablo you still have the two possible methods from Norm and Nightmare. Both are still viable in Hell within acceptable time.
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