End of act I Skills – Smite (Shackle) Blessed Shield Shield Glare (Divine Verdict), Condemn, Laws of Valor (Invincible), Sword Strike [Fervor, Heavenly Strength]
A while back, I began a project where I would start a hardcore character and set it on a roadmap of improvement, a very unusual one given the current environment. Diablo III continues to have a “Campaign Mode”, and, with the advent of RoS, the leveling process has been stratified into, what I believe, is a designed outline of success. To put it briefly, I would go through campaign mode on each difficulty and at the end of each difficulty, go through a set number of rifts. While going through this process, I would document my progress with my “build” (such as it was), level progression, and legendary gear drops.
What resulted was a demon hunter who died to Arcane Sentries on level 48, in Act I of ‘Hard difficulty’ – and it took me 28 hrs of gameplay. Now, unlike some of you, I am not a typical “gamer”. I am somewhat older than the usual demographic for this game and I have something called a “life”. Since that first trial, I have literally buried myself in Twitch.tv, researching, studying, learning, and with the advent of Seasons, it is time for me to restart the project once more.
So, with a brand new hardcore character, I intend to follow the exact same roadmap. Starting off in normal, I intend to take this character through campaign mode, and step up all the way through T-6, with the documentation of legendary drops, gear worn, relevant sheet stats, spell rotation and build, and leveling process until the character expires.
Now, why would I do this? I continue to believe this is the way Blizzard intended a character to be leveled, especially in hardcore mode. The almost unanimous majority of players do not feel this way, and I understand that … it’s a race to place high on that leaderboard and we’ll just ‘bounty-and-rift’ it until we hit 70 and just hunt for that gear. I get that and it’s fine, it’s just not something I find enjoyment in doing.
The documentation is there to separate what I find in campaign vs. adventure mode. If I RIP in Paragon levels, due to the nature of this project, it ends. Any assistance due to paragon experience or character improvements would taint the intent of the project. If I expire before 70, I will be starting another character, as the only advantage I will be getting is the existence of artisans and leftover gold. I will sell whatever gems and gear in my stash. The number of rifts at the end of each difficulty level can be mathematically put as (d^3), meaning Normal 1, Hard 8, Expert 27, and so on and so forth, which gets you a number north of 3,000 when I complete T-6 before I even begin greater rifts.
I intend to begin this project at midnight MT Sept 4, more than likely with a crusader, and any further constructive advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading.
It took you 28 hours to reach lvl 48 and you RIP ???
First of all, RIP can happen to anyone at any time ... things happen. Secondly, it took me 28 hours because I'm learning, like everyone else had to, including you. Plus, I often stalled and had it on in the background while I did other things. Am I for Real? Cogito Ergo Sum.
1. As expected, Normal difficulty was easy. My only 'red screen' was when I didn't realize I was standing in fire. The step up to Hard difficulty, however, was pretty steep. My weapon damage at the end (6,990.5) was not sufficient and I had little to no resist, save the diamond (+30) in one slot in my gear. The reason why I am switching to a crusader, is 1) I said I would, 2) I need more defense. 2. This tells me I need to run more bounties and rifts after story mode in Normal. I am not abandoning the original setup, however, I am increasing the normal bounty/rift runs from 1 to 4. That would also mean, by extension, quadrupling my runs in the higher difficulties should I get there, but realistically, if I am going that route, it is a more realistic possibility to go back to the original note and just adjust it to r=4(d^3). Total runs = 12,100 -- but again, seeing as though I actually have to get there -- well -- we will see. 3. I did get both the blacksmith and jeweler to level 10, and enchanter to 6. I was not having many gold issues -- I will sell anything in my stash and begin with the resulting gold. As there is no XP boost via Paragon or the char stat boost, the craft availability is insignificant. 4. Attempt 2 starts ... immediately.
15) End Act 3 – Level 35.13, Dmg 2521.8, Def 30,016 Heal 366 Leg Equip #11, #10, #5
Current active skills – Main Hungering Arrow; Shatter Shot Secondary Rapid Fire; Withering Fire
1 – Shadow Power; Moon Power 2 – Companion; Spider Companion 3 – Fan of Knives; Pinpoint Accuracy 4 – Strafe; Drifting Shadow
Passive: Blood Vengeance, Cull the Weak, Archery
4. ACT IV
16) Legendary 12 – [World Drop] Level 35.92 (35)- <Belt> Sebor’s Nightmare +125 Vit +118 Dex Regen +18, Grenade Damage +12% (Pickup +1) Haunt 5 on Open Chest
17) Legendary 13 – [Diablo Drop 1] Level 36.52 (36) <Quiver> Holy Shot +178 Vit Attack Speed +15% 4% Life +88 LPH Bolts damage +15% (+14 Xtra Gold, +7 Max Disc)
18) Legendary 14 – [Diablo Drop 2] Level 36.52 (36) <Shoulders> Death Watch Mantle +3% Life +102 Armor Regen +23 6% Cooldown (Pickup +2, <Fan of Knives 33% chance 200% damage on hit>)
19) End Act 4- Level 35.60 – Dmg 2993.5, Def 35,253 Heal 417 Leg Equip #16, #18, #5
Current Skills –Main Hungering Arrow; Shatter Shot Secondary Rapid Fire; Fire Support
1 – Shadow Power; Moon Power 2 – Companion; Spider Companion 3 – Fan of Knives; Pinpoint Accuracy 4 – Multi-Shot, Burst Fire
21) Legendary 15 – [World Drop] Level 38.95 <Amulet> Dovu Energy Trap -- +199 Dex 3% life, Crit 4, Cooldown -4 +27 Fire Protect 25% Trap time reduction
22) Legendary 16 – {Chest Drop 1] Lvl 39.55 <Chest> Cindercoat (39) +6% Fire Dmg, +126 Dex +116 Vit Thorns +69 (Fire Skills cost -23%) Soc
23) Legendary 17 – [Chest Drop 2] Lvl 39.55 <Ring> Rachel’s Ring of Larceny (39) +7-10 Dmg +126 Dex +59 LPH (+2.5% Fear, 46% increased movement 4 sec after fear
Constant updates will prove a bit cumbersome -- Therefore, heres a link to a blog I'm creating -- At the time of this posting, I am just posting my legendary drops and my end act stats.
Thanks for the info Drahque, well it seems like I got my work cut out for me -- it seems unbelievable, but based on that information, might I have to switch up the number of rifts to r=d^4 or 25,333 rift runs. <Gulp>
I am slightly older than the typical D3 demographic, but have been an avid player of both the WC and Diablo franchises. Two of my specialties that are related to gaming and this challenge is that I am a mathematician, and a tournament chess player – in other words, I enjoy strategy and numbers … a lot. Although I have no degree in mathematics, my current US Chess Federation rating is 1689, which only says I am an ‘above average’ tournament player in the rated community.
I also have mild cerebral palsy. I tell you this because it can slow my reaction time in certain situations. I generally have to pace myself and although I can do long stretches of gaming, there are certain things I might have to adapt to as we go along, so please bear with me if this is a long drawn out process.
Now, concerning the project itself
I have never been an active hardcore player, and although I played a fair bit of Diablo III on softcore casual, I've dabbled in HC. I would never go through and dedicate myself seriously to this game. I have gotten a monk to level 60, and have beaten the game on normal with a monk and a barbarian. I was convinced that I had with a crusader, but I must have dream t it because when I looked back on my achievements, I did not see a listing.
During the past few months however, partly because of my inability to stay connected to WoW consistently, I have been devoting more and more time to D3. Like chess, I enjoy the 1-on-1 challenge. The shift in difficulty change from D3 Classic to D3 RoS opens up a level of challenge unique in gaming, and although it is a repetitive format, the entire concept lends itself, in my opinion, to an unlimited quest. My Youtube searches with players who explain builds and progression only have heightened this belief.
Throw in the added spectrum of hardcore – “You die, that’s it.” and you have a grand recipe.
So, with this in mind, here is the project explained as quickly as possible.
What if someone were to take a character through each and every difficulty in progression from Normal through Torment6? We know there is a gear difference between ‘Story Mode’ and ‘Adventure Mode’, but how much of one? Also, since there is no longer an XP/Level Cap, there should be an unlimited (theoretically) opportunity to improve the character even beyond Paragon 800.
So, for each difficulty setting, I plan to take the character through ‘story mode’ and after that I plan to take the character through a set number of bounty runs and rift runs per setting. My original plan was to use the formula (r=d2), but I have changed that to (r=d3), so the number of runs will be as follows (The number shown is the number of Rift runs, since I can not determine that easily how many bounties I will have to complete to get the number of shards)
Normal – 1
Hard – 8
Expert – 27
Master – 64
Torment 1 – 125
Torment 2 – 216
Torment 3 – 343
Torment 4 – 512
Torment 5 – 729
Torment 6 – 1,000
Total Runs – 3,025
With each progression in story mode – act the end of both acts and rift runs, I plan to list the following:
My Gear
My Relevant Paper Doll Numbers
Current XP
My Current Talent Build
What legendary/set items dropped during the act/rift run.
I also plan to compare and contrast the gear in story mode vs. the gear in bounty and rift mode. I’m thinking that 3,025 runs in addition to everything else will get me to Paragon 800 and be geared out with best-in-slot.
Since I have little to no idea of what a ‘build’ is going into this, this will be trial by error, and a trial by fire This could be an extremely LONG project as I do have other things outside of d3.
If I die, before level 70, I restart a new character. If I die after level 70, the project ends. With this sort of project, I associate any paragon assistance on subsequent characters a ‘cheat’, including accumulated exp. When I start the project, I do have one artisan (blacksmith) and **some** gold, but I don't consider that a game-altering advantage especially as the game progresses. This will be done completely solo.
I originally wanted to run a crusader because of the tank-nature of the class, but I must do more research, so it maybe subject to change.
Addendum: If I am still alive at the end of T6 rift runs, I shall then use my Greater Rift keys.
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated – even negative advice.
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ACT I NORMAL
Follower: Templar, Heal, Loyalty, Onslaught, Inspire
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A while back, I began a project where I would start a hardcore character and set it on a roadmap of improvement, a very unusual one given the current environment. Diablo III continues to have a “Campaign Mode”, and, with the advent of RoS, the leveling process has been stratified into, what I believe, is a designed outline of success. To put it briefly, I would go through campaign mode on each difficulty and at the end of each difficulty, go through a set number of rifts. While going through this process, I would document my progress with my “build” (such as it was), level progression, and legendary gear drops.
What resulted was a demon hunter who died to Arcane Sentries on level 48, in Act I of ‘Hard difficulty’ – and it took me 28 hrs of gameplay. Now, unlike some of you, I am not a typical “gamer”. I am somewhat older than the usual demographic for this game and I have something called a “life”. Since that first trial, I have literally buried myself in Twitch.tv, researching, studying, learning, and with the advent of Seasons, it is time for me to restart the project once more.
So, with a brand new hardcore character, I intend to follow the exact same roadmap. Starting off in normal, I intend to take this character through campaign mode, and step up all the way through T-6, with the documentation of legendary drops, gear worn, relevant sheet stats, spell rotation and build, and leveling process until the character expires.
Now, why would I do this? I continue to believe this is the way Blizzard intended a character to be leveled, especially in hardcore mode. The almost unanimous majority of players do not feel this way, and I understand that … it’s a race to place high on that leaderboard and we’ll just ‘bounty-and-rift’ it until we hit 70 and just hunt for that gear. I get that and it’s fine, it’s just not something I find enjoyment in doing.
The documentation is there to separate what I find in campaign vs. adventure mode. If I RIP in Paragon levels, due to the nature of this project, it ends. Any assistance due to paragon experience or character improvements would taint the intent of the project. If I expire before 70, I will be starting another character, as the only advantage I will be getting is the existence of artisans and leftover gold. I will sell whatever gems and gear in my stash. The number of rifts at the end of each difficulty level can be mathematically put as (d^3), meaning Normal 1, Hard 8, Expert 27, and so on and so forth, which gets you a number north of 3,000 when I complete T-6 before I even begin greater rifts.
I intend to begin this project at midnight MT Sept 4, more than likely with a crusader, and any further constructive advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you for reading.
Sincerely,
DrCheckmate
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Notes from Attempt 1
1. As expected, Normal difficulty was easy. My only 'red screen' was when I didn't realize I was standing in fire. The step up to Hard difficulty, however, was pretty steep. My weapon damage at the end (6,990.5) was not sufficient and I had little to no resist, save the diamond (+30) in one slot in my gear. The reason why I am switching to a crusader, is 1) I said I would, 2) I need more defense.2. This tells me I need to run more bounties and rifts after story mode in Normal. I am not abandoning the original setup, however, I am increasing the normal bounty/rift runs from 1 to 4. That would also mean, by extension, quadrupling my runs in the higher difficulties should I get there, but realistically, if I am going that route, it is a more realistic possibility to go back to the original note and just adjust it to r=4(d^3). Total runs = 12,100 -- but again, seeing as though I actually have to get there -- well -- we will see.
3. I did get both the blacksmith and jeweler to level 10, and enchanter to 6. I was not having many gold issues -- I will sell anything in my stash and begin with the resulting gold. As there is no XP boost via Paragon or the char stat boost, the craft availability is insignificant.
4. Attempt 2 starts ... immediately.
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PART II: HARD
7. ACT I
1) Set plans: Cain’s Fate (Level 46.37)
2) Legendary 21 [World Drop] Lvl 47.50 <Quiver> Bombadier’s Ruckshack 288 Dex Attack Speed +16% Crit Chance +5.5%, Entangling Shot +15%, 1.7% Chill, 2 Xtra sentries
DEAD: Level 48.80 Wortham, Arcane Sentry -- Time 28 hrs 48 mins
Yes, I will be restarting another char -- A Crusader0
PART I: NORMAL – DEMON HUNTER ЖEНЩИНА (ZJENSHINA)
1. ACT I
1) Legendary 1 – [World Drop] Lvl 13.45 – <Belt> Vigilante Belt (13) 22 Dex 19 Vit Regen +3, LPH +6 (exp +12) Pickup +1
2) Legendary 2 - [World Drop] Lvl 13.82 – <Belt> Vigilante Belt (13) 19 Dex 21 Vit Regen +2 LPH +5 (exp +12) Pickup +1 [Leg #1 Retained]
3) Legendary 3 – [Butcher Drop] Lvl 21.40 <Chest>– Aqulla’s Curass (21) 47 Dex 37 Vit Regen +9 (+47 LPK exp +15), 1 Soc
4) End Act 1 – Lvl 21.51, Dmg 287.45, Def 5438. Heal 111 – Leg Equip #1, #3
Current active skills – Main Entangling shot; Shock Collar Secondary Rapid Fire; Withering Fire
1 – Caltrops; Torturous Ground 2 – Vault; Action Shot 3 – Fan of Knives 4 – Strafe
Passive: Blood Vengeance, Cull the Weak
2. ACT II
5) Legendary 4 – [World Drop] `Lvl 21.82 <Head> - Broken Crown (21) 62 Dex 56 Vit Attack +3% +19 LPH (Thorns +7, exp +20)
6) Legendary 5 – [World Drop] Lvl 27.62 <Ring> Nagel Ring (27) +5-10 Dmg, 61 Vit 8% Area Damage +25 LPH (50% Magic, Thorns +10)
7) Legendary 6 – [World Drop] Lvl 28.15 <Belt> Vigilante Belt (28) 78 Dex 61 Vit Regen +15 LPH +38 (exp +23, Thorns +13)
8) Legendary 7 – [World Drop] Lvl 29.20 <Belt> Vigilante Belt (29) 65 Dex 85 Vit Regen +15 LPH +25 (exp +41, Pickup +2) Leg 6 Retained
9) Legendary 8 – [World Drop] Lvl 30.41 <Ring> Nagelring (30) 108 Vit 9% Area Damage +37 LPH (32% Magic, Thorns +10) Soc
10) Legendary 9 – [Belial Drop] Lvl 30.71 <Shoulder> Homing Pads (30) 108 Dex 100 Vit Regen +15 Resource -5% (+11% Xtra Gold)
11) End Act 2 – Level 30.80, Dmg 1254.7 Def 22,345 Heal 321 Leg Equip #3, #4, #5, #9 Companion Equip #8
3. ACT III
12) Set Plans Acquired; Aughild’s Victory Level 31.20
13) Legendary 10 – [World Drop] 32.56 <Bracers> Gungdo Gear (32) Poison +10% 105 Vit +12 All Resist +4% Life – (Movement Impairment -12%, +14% Xtra Gold)
14) Legendary 11 – [Azmodan Drop] 35.12 <Quiver> Sin Seekers +187 Dex +166 Vit 17% Attack Speed +4 Crit -4 Cost +7 Disc 1.5% Immobilize
15) End Act 3 – Level 35.13, Dmg 2521.8, Def 30,016 Heal 366 Leg Equip #11, #10, #5
Current active skills – Main Hungering Arrow; Shatter Shot Secondary Rapid Fire; Withering Fire
1 – Shadow Power; Moon Power 2 – Companion; Spider Companion 3 – Fan of Knives; Pinpoint Accuracy 4 – Strafe; Drifting Shadow
Passive: Blood Vengeance, Cull the Weak, Archery
4. ACT IV
16) Legendary 12 – [World Drop] Level 35.92 (35)- <Belt> Sebor’s Nightmare +125 Vit +118 Dex Regen +18, Grenade Damage +12% (Pickup +1) Haunt 5 on Open Chest
17) Legendary 13 – [Diablo Drop 1] Level 36.52 (36) <Quiver> Holy Shot +178 Vit Attack Speed +15% 4% Life +88 LPH Bolts damage +15% (+14 Xtra Gold, +7 Max Disc)
18) Legendary 14 – [Diablo Drop 2] Level 36.52 (36) <Shoulders> Death Watch Mantle +3% Life +102 Armor Regen +23 6% Cooldown (Pickup +2, <Fan of Knives 33% chance 200% damage on hit>)
19) End Act 4- Level 35.60 – Dmg 2993.5, Def 35,253 Heal 417 Leg Equip #16, #18, #5
Current Skills –Main Hungering Arrow; Shatter Shot Secondary Rapid Fire; Fire Support
1 – Shadow Power; Moon Power 2 – Companion; Spider Companion 3 – Fan of Knives; Pinpoint Accuracy 4 – Multi-Shot, Burst Fire
Passive: Blood Vengeance, Steady Aim, Perfectionist
5. ACT V
20) Legendary Plans – Bitterness Level 37.23
21) Legendary 15 – [World Drop] Level 38.95 <Amulet> Dovu Energy Trap -- +199 Dex 3% life, Crit 4, Cooldown -4 +27 Fire Protect 25% Trap time reduction
22) Legendary 16 – {Chest Drop 1] Lvl 39.55 <Chest> Cindercoat (39) +6% Fire Dmg, +126 Dex +116 Vit Thorns +69 (Fire Skills cost -23%) Soc
23) Legendary 17 – [Chest Drop 2] Lvl 39.55 <Ring> Rachel’s Ring of Larceny (39) +7-10 Dmg +126 Dex +59 LPH (+2.5% Fear, 46% increased movement 4 sec after fear
24) Legendary 18 – [Malthael Drop] Lvl 42.75 <Quiver> Fletcher’s Pride (42) +222 Dex Attack Speed +20%, Hatred +.87, Entangling Shot +15%, (+7 Max Disc Globe +1046)
25) End Act 5 – Lvl 42.80 Attack 4,303.24 Def 41,261 Heal 383
Current Skills –Main Hungering Arrow; Shatter Shot Secondary Rapid Fire; Withering Fire
1 – Shadow Power; Moon Power 2 – Companion; Boar Companion 3 – Fan of Knives; Pinpoint Accuracy 4 – Strafe; Emberstrike
Passive: Blood Vengeance, Steady Aim, Perfectionist
6. BOUNTY & RIFT
26) Legendary 19 [Bounty Drop] Lvl 43.50 <Wrist> Custerian Wrist Guards (43)
27)Legendary 20 [Rift Drop] Lvl 43.95 <Legs> Pox Paulds (43)
28) End Normal Difficulty – Lvl 44.71 Attack 5,099.3 Def 51,936 Heal 519
Current Skills –Main Hungering Arrow; Shatter Shot Secondary Rapid Fire; Withering Fire
1 – Shadow Power; Moon Power 2 – Companion; Boar Companion 3 – Fan of Knives; Pinpoint Accuracy 4 – Strafe; Emberstrike
Passive: Blood Vengeance, Steady Aim, Perfectionist
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https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=2150624166987968532#allposts/postNum=0
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2. ACT II NORMAL
1) Legendary 4 – [World Drop] `Lvl 21.82 <Head> - Broken Crown (21) 62 Dex 56 Vit Attack +3% +19 LPH (Thorns +7, exp +20)
2) Legendary 5 – [World Drop] Lvl 27.62 <Ring> Nagel Ring (27) +5-10 Dmg, 61 Vit 8% Area Damage +25 LPH (50% Magic, Thorns +10)
3) Legendary 6 – [World Drop] Lvl 28.15 <Belt> Vigilante Belt (28) 78 Dex 61 Vit Regen +15 LPH +38 (exp +23, Thorns +13)
4) Legendary 7 – [World Drop] Lvl 29.20 <Belt> Vigilante Belt (29) 65 Dex 85 Vit Regen +15 LPH +25 (exp +41, Pickup +2) Leg 6 Retained
5) Legendary 8 – [World Drop] Lvl 30.41 <Ring> Nagelring (30) 108 Vit 9% Area Damage +37 LPH (32% Magic, Thorns +10) Soc
6) Legendary 9 – [Belial Drop] Lvl 30.71 <Shoulder> Homing Pads (30) 108 Dex 100 Vit Regen +15 Resource -5% (+11% Xtra Gold)
7) End Act 2 – Level 30.80, Dmg 1254.7 Def 22,345 Heal 321 Leg Equip #3, #4, #5, #9 Companion Equip #8
Current active skills – Main Hungering Arrow; Shatter Shot Secondary Rapid Fire; Withering Fire
1 – Shadow Power; Moon Power 2 – Companion; Spider Companion 3 – Fan of Knives; Pinpoint Accuracy 4 – Strafe; Drifting Shadow
Passive: Blood Vengence, Cull the Weak, Archery
1
1. ACT I NORMAL
1) Legendary 1 – [World Drop] Lvl 13.45 – <Belt> Vigilante Belt (13) 22 Dex 19 Vit Regen +3, LPH +6 (exp +12) Pickup +1
2) Legendary 2 - [World Drop] Lvl 13.82 – <Belt> Vigilante Belt (13) 19 Dex 21 Vit Regen +2 LPH +5 (exp +12) Pickup +1 [Leg #1 Retained]
3) Legendary 3 – [Butcher Drop] Lvl 21.40 <Chest>– Aqulla’s Curass (21) 47 Dex 37 Vit Regen +9 (+47 LPK exp +15), 1 Soc
4) End Act 1 – Lvl 21.51, Dmg 287.45, Def 5438. Heal 111 – Leg Equip #1, #3
Current active skills – Main Entangling shot; Shock Collar Secondary Rapid Fire; Withering Fire
1 – Caltrops; Torturous Ground 2 – Vault; Action Shot 3 – Fan of Knives 4 – Strafe
Passive: Blood Vengeance, Cull the Weak
0
http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/DrCheckmate-1125/hero/50241548 -- and the English pronunciation to the name is 'Zjenshena'
Incidentally, I did purchase a Redragon Perdition Mouse to assist me with this.
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introduction
Welcome to my Diablo III hardcore project
First, before we begin, a few things about me.
I am slightly older than the typical D3 demographic, but have been an avid player of both the WC and Diablo franchises. Two of my specialties that are related to gaming and this challenge is that I am a mathematician, and a tournament chess player – in other words, I enjoy strategy and numbers … a lot. Although I have no degree in mathematics, my current US Chess Federation rating is 1689, which only says I am an ‘above average’ tournament player in the rated community.
I also have mild cerebral palsy. I tell you this because it can slow my reaction time in certain situations. I generally have to pace myself and although I can do long stretches of gaming, there are certain things I might have to adapt to as we go along, so please bear with me if this is a long drawn out process.
Now, concerning the project itself
I have never been an active hardcore player, and although I played a fair bit of Diablo III on softcore casual, I've dabbled in HC. I would never go through and dedicate myself seriously to this game. I have gotten a monk to level 60, and have beaten the game on normal with a monk and a barbarian. I was convinced that I had with a crusader, but I must have dream t it because when I looked back on my achievements, I did not see a listing.
During the past few months however, partly because of my inability to stay connected to WoW consistently, I have been devoting more and more time to D3. Like chess, I enjoy the 1-on-1 challenge. The shift in difficulty change from D3 Classic to D3 RoS opens up a level of challenge unique in gaming, and although it is a repetitive format, the entire concept lends itself, in my opinion, to an unlimited quest. My Youtube searches with players who explain builds and progression only have heightened this belief.
Throw in the added spectrum of hardcore – “You die, that’s it.” and you have a grand recipe.
So, with this in mind, here is the project explained as quickly as possible.
What if someone were to take a character through each and every difficulty in progression from Normal through Torment6? We know there is a gear difference between ‘Story Mode’ and ‘Adventure Mode’, but how much of one? Also, since there is no longer an XP/Level Cap, there should be an unlimited (theoretically) opportunity to improve the character even beyond Paragon 800.
So, for each difficulty setting, I plan to take the character through ‘story mode’ and after that I plan to take the character through a set number of bounty runs and rift runs per setting. My original plan was to use the formula (r=d2), but I have changed that to (r=d3), so the number of runs will be as follows (The number shown is the number of Rift runs, since I can not determine that easily how many bounties I will have to complete to get the number of shards)
Normal – 1
Hard – 8
Expert – 27
Master – 64
Torment 1 – 125
Torment 2 – 216
Torment 3 – 343
Torment 4 – 512
Torment 5 – 729
Torment 6 – 1,000
Total Runs – 3,025
With each progression in story mode – act the end of both acts and rift runs, I plan to list the following:
I also plan to compare and contrast the gear in story mode vs. the gear in bounty and rift mode. I’m thinking that 3,025 runs in addition to everything else will get me to Paragon 800 and be geared out with best-in-slot.
Since I have little to no idea of what a ‘build’ is going into this, this will be trial by error, and a trial by fire This could be an extremely LONG project as I do have other things outside of d3.
If I die, before level 70, I restart a new character. If I die after level 70, the project ends. With this sort of project, I associate any paragon assistance on subsequent characters a ‘cheat’, including accumulated exp. When I start the project, I do have one artisan (blacksmith) and **some** gold, but I don't consider that a game-altering advantage especially as the game progresses. This will be done completely solo.
I originally wanted to run a crusader because of the tank-nature of the class, but I must do more research, so it maybe subject to change.
Addendum: If I am still alive at the end of T6 rift runs, I shall then use my Greater Rift keys.
Any and all advice is greatly appreciated – even negative advice.
Thank you for Reading,
DrCheckmate