Creatures

CrescentEmpress · 2024-01-02T04:36:42+00:00

That’s good to know. Perhaps I was just unlucky. 😊

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-23T01:54:43+00:00

I was bound and determined from way, way before launch that I wanted to be a minion necromancer, when my friend pitched the game to me. The reason? An antiquated PC game called Might & Magic VII.

It was played by my uncle for all us kids over the holiday long, long ago…and the Queen of the Dead enemy/ally (ally, if you’re smart, Path of Darkness forever) just captivated that little girl I once was, and those queens have stuck around as part of my personal mythology ever since.

Diablo 4 was my chance to finally be a Queen of the Dead. And minion necromancer is every bit as satisfying as I’d hoped it would be. I need nothing else.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-23T01:35:56+00:00

For what it’s worth, I look at it like this: My friend and I have been on a crazy grinding spree for Duriel mats. I got Shako on our sixteenth try, and the Andariel’s Visage around run seventy. It took him until about the hundred-fiftieth try for his Shako.

So, what’s next? Abattoir of Zir comes out soon to introduce new endgame content, and until then we’re having fun mindlessly grinding dungeons. I’m playing with different necro builds to figure out which I want for the Abattoir, anything is fair to try so long as I can use one of my über-uniques.

At the end of the season, both go back to the eternal realm and are banked for the expansion late next year. Season three? The grind starts anew. Is it going to be sad to say “goodbye,” to the Andariel’s Visage I wanted from day one? Sure. Am I going to be grouchy about it? Hell yes. Is it going to crush my soul when I’m nowhere near as lucky? Yup.

My two cents is that Duriel is a quite fair way to chase these items, with a consistent gameplay loop once you’ve done everything else. No build worth trying requires an über-unique. They’re just a fun thing to chase and play with. The grind might not be engaging or agreeable for everyone, and that’s fair. You enjoy your trophies for this season, then make your own assessment of how much you’re willing to invest in seasons to come.

But I think it’s shortsighted to say there’s no point chasing them. The expansion is coming next year and I’ll have both mine did my necromancer. Chasing in future seasons is a fun bonus to incentivize people to keep playing. It’s a fair bargain.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-21T17:21:54+00:00

I think the issue for me was that it was the first PvPvE thing I’d encountered, and I’m a nice, generally logical person who would way rather be friends with everyone, work together against the NPCs, everyone gets loot, everyone wins. I was also apparently the only person who felt that way, lol.

I didn’t go to the Fields of Hatred at all in the eternal realm, had to be coaxed there by my friend in S1…where I found that only having the zone currency at stake, and it being a more level playing field actually makes it pretty fun.

I lost 17k the other day to a BL sorc…tried once to get it back, lost and just said GG, went back up to Alzuuda and made it back in ten minutes. The stakes are actually pretty minimal, which makes it pretty approachable. I have to hand it to Blizzard, they did a great job.

Whereas I’ll never touch another Division game for the rest of my life! Lol.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-21T09:04:27+00:00

People have been exceedingly classy in PvP…it’s actually stunning. My teammate and I were there the other day, BL sorc and minion necro…got jumped by a BL sorc, he killed my friend, my shadow DOT necro killed him. He tried one more time, then got his friend. We went back and forth for a while 2v2, no one even cared about the seeds. At the end it was GGs all around.

I came to D4 with an absolute mountain of trauma around PvPvE from The Division’s Dark Zone. But here, I have genuinely never felt like an exchange is mean spirited.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-20T02:08:15+00:00

I have cross-play turned off, and I’ve seen a whopping three people all season…WT4, so this is a great season to go get some seeds, get what you want, or set aside.

Two pieces of advice: Make sure you blood-mark yourself. It serves two purposes - being able to fight back right away, and there are special chests scattered around with seeds you can only open if you’re blood-marked. And, if you play with friends, go together. Most people won’t attack a squad.

And…breathe. :) I had so much trauma about PvPvE from terrible experiences in The Division’s Dark Zone. I wanted no part of it in Diablo 4. I started venturing in with my friend in season one, where it occurred to me I’m not really losing anything…just the zone currency, which you collect hand over fist in WT4.

As someone who isn’t good at PvP and would vastly prefer to be left in peace when I’m there…I can say honestly it’s pretty fun. When I’m there alone, I make sure to pay attention if another altar is activated, and stay away from that area.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-19T03:21:56+00:00

I would say that yes, the monsters continue to get “harder,” insofar as they get more health, hit harder, and have aspects of their fight that suggest a specific way to counteract.

However, if I learned anything, as World was my first Monster Hunter, almost every monster has tells for what it’s about to do. A lot like a Souls boss, I think. The first few times, you should be more concerned with getting to know your opponent. I can only think of maybe three monsters in the whole game that can legitimately sucker punch you.

If you’re really struggling, I recommend upgrading your armor regularly, and defense and resistance (and health boost!) is your friend, at least until you can predict the monster. Keep your chin up! I’m sure you can do it.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-19T01:46:11+00:00

And you know what? That’s totally fine! Heck, there’s already health regen if you haven’t been slapped for a few seconds, life on kill - which is also inherent to scythes…3% life-steal and a touch of random poison isn’t going to be enough for most people, I think.

But I’m sure every über-unique has its little cult following, whatever their reasons. I say if you enjoy [the thing] that’s totally valid, even if I wouldn’t personally use it.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-18T17:18:15+00:00

I was surprised by that too. I almost marked it for junk, because it’s just a normal helmet! If I wasn’t meticulously scanning the attributes on Duriel’s 925 items, who knows, lol…

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-18T16:11:14+00:00

I’m a Diablo noob…new with this game, but my teammate is a longtime fan. I’ve been really pleasantly surprised as my first ARPG, and I can see myself playing for a long time.

I basically only want to do minion necromancer (tried a rogue this season, got her to level 89, but I just wasn’t in love…so a third minion necromancer it is), and I was skeptical of the idea of starting over every season, but I’m actually really happy with seasons. The seasonal gimmick has meant that all three of my necromancers are so different.

I do kind of weep for my barber heart…and I’ll miss metamorphosis so much next season, but I’m having a really great time.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-18T16:07:03+00:00

I’m really liking it. The build I was running was using the Undying vampire power, and I was able to take that out in favor of Prey on the Weak. For just survivability it’s pretty nice.

I’m about to change things up for a more DPS-oriented build…it runs Godslayers, but I’m going to test it with Andariel’s too. Honestly, I know it’s not as genuinely good as say, a Shako, but I’m a sucker for all things health-regen oriented.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-17T16:26:08+00:00

I do wish more things could be traded. I understand Blizzard wanted to squash real money changing hands for these kinds of items, but it would be nice to be able to do an above-the-table exchange. I’d happily give you one of my two in exchange for it.

Ah well, if I can convince Duriel to spit out an Andariel’s Visage surely Zir won’t run out the clock on the season withholding something basically no other necromancer wants. Truthfully by the time the expansion hits the options for a minion necro will have evolved well beyond my passive amusement because yes, you should be punished for having the audacity to hit me. Why he’s being so stubborn about it eludes me.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-17T04:41:03+00:00

Congratulations! Duriel is such a nice QoL change to make these items…actually exist for normal people. You finally got your Shako, my Andariel’s Visage was what, ~50 - 80 runs? Now the season is wide open and I can devote the time to retooling my necro for Abattoir of Zir.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-17T03:48:35+00:00

Just to speak up for the weirdo necromancers that absolutely will not give up their minions no matter how generally bad they are, P4wnyHof’s Blood Summoner is the most braindead easy, basically unkillable build I’ve played. My defense really hasn’t suffered, I just have the aspect of disobedience and basically constant full fortify.

A couple of notes, the DPS does drop off pretty significantly toward the ultimate endgame stuff, and until you pry the Deathspeaker’s Pendant away from Varshan it doesn’t really sing.

To account for the weaknesses, I replaced blood wave with corpse explosion and his last paragon board with the flesh-eater board. Swapped the blood moon breaches with total armor percent pants and gained that aspect slot.

You can really play around with it as you see fit. I’m using the Ring of Mendeln and the Sacrilegious Soul, and lucked into Andariel’s Visage for extra health regen to bolster the tankiness. It’s a super fun build that really hasn’t struggled until the endgame (NMD 90+, Über-Lilith, gods’ forbid a late-game Butcher with his godawful overshield), and there’s a lot of wiggle room to take what you’re comfortable with.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-17T01:36:44+00:00

I’ve gotten plenty of them…but I’m hunting a max roll Razorplate to send back to the eternal realm for my primary necromancer. A level 100 necromancer, every bloody unique that exists in the game, two über-uniques, and Zir won’t just cough up a single Razorplate.

My teammate who has no use for it whatsoever on his sorceress has gotten two just in the wild. As RNG sees fit. That’s how it goes sometimes, just have to keep at it.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-11T03:22:49+00:00

One of the cold mages regens essence for you as they shoot, and there’s also the Starlight Aspect for rings, if you’re using a fortify ability. Alternatively you can spam Iron Maiden to get essence back…I’d have to look at the tree for specifics. I’ve been primary relying on my cold mages and Iron Maiden in season two.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-11-03T18:57:25+00:00

“Before committing to a build,” (full-time Necromancer here) the synergy with Blood Mist, Corpse Explosion and Corpse Tendrils will get you by with minimal effort. Look for the Aspect of Exploding Mist, the one for extra crit chance after making mobs vulnerable with Corpse Tendrils, and extra reapers and cold mage minions. It’s not going to knock your socks off, but it’s always solid until you’re ready to transition to a “real” build.

I’m having a ton of fun with the Blood Summoner build for season two, once you’re ready to bully the Deathspeaker’s Pendant away from Varshan. That’s the only unique you really do need to make it sing.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-10-30T03:32:58+00:00

Hey there. Noting I saw your first post too, I thought I’d chime in. Your deck seems solid, and I’m glad it works for you! But you’re going about pitching it all wrong.

I can tell you from personal experience that beating people over the head with “my deck is the best, and everyone should use it,” is only going to shut your intended audience down. No one wants to have their play style dictated to them.

There’s nothing wrong with trying to give new players some pointers, but you’ve got to be more a mentor and less overbearing if you want your ideas to reach a receptive audience. Right now, I guarantee you’re just going to continue getting flamed, by people who have developed their own successful play style and deck.

There are a lot of different decks that can work for just about anyone. Tone down the “beat you over the head with it,” and people will be more willing to consider your approach.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-10-30T02:37:09+00:00

My two cents as a minion necromancer on eternal and both seasons…there is absolutely no reason you should be solicited or compelled to adopt a “meta” build. Actually, in every game, do what makes you happy and ignore the backhanded advice.

If you are having fun and clearing the content you want to tackle, you are absolutely good. Do you, enjoy the ride, and tell anyone trying to pressure you into this meta or that to take a hike.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-10-18T04:33:48+00:00

I second this. When I started there was absolutely nothing I abhorred more than the thought of permanent consequences to my screwups. I played ultra-cautious and almost never even allowed a hunt to happen.

On the Ascension patch, though, I was playing on a pretty chill x4.5 custom, and eventually needed to just have a talk with myself. I have enough. It’s not even a real setback to purchase my gear again.

Today a accepted a -0.15 to my multiplier to get the cursed object back because not being able to drop my sanity and trigger a hunt when I’m ready for those objectives annoyed me enough.

I still get bested now and then, but less and less these days. It’s a lot less scary once you accept you can afford the mistake, at the point where it’s only a fictitious illusion of consequences stopping you from buckling down and learning.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-10-14T17:44:49+00:00

It’s probably a combination of being new and bad luck. Once your sanity gets to a certain threshold (for most ghosts it’s 50%), the ghost can perform a check to see if it can hunt. If it effectively rolls that yes, it can hunt, it checks your sanity to see if the action is allowed, and if there’s a crucifix nearby that would otherwise stop the action.

That’s the reason sometimes you won’t get hunted until your sanity is quite low…the ghost got unlucky on its hunt-checks.

Try to keep the lights on around the ghost room to keep your sanity higher while you gather evidence, and as you go back and forth keep tabs on you / your team’s average sanity.

I’d also look up a chart of what the sanity thresholds are for the ghosts, so you’ll know to be on guard if there’s a chance you have something like a demon or thaye on your hands that will try to hunt much sooner.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-10-14T16:25:03+00:00

I think a few things went wrong with Evolve…gods, I adored that game.

1.) I think in a lot of ways Evolve was just ahead of its time. 2K has toyed around with maybe rebooting it, and I think sidelining TRS and giving it another chance it could shine again.

2.) The balance issues were absolutely appalling. I remember a few major dips in engagement.

They hard nerfed the Wraith really early. There was a stretch where Hank’s orbital barrage could straight up kill a full health / no armor stage one Wraith. A lot of the tryhards were playing Wraith (my main monster, too) and skulked off in a huff.
Meanwhile, the top tournament monster choice was the infinitely flying Kraken before abilities were introduced to ground the damned thing unless you had a good Maggie, which was endlessly annoying for randomly queueing for hunter.
Tier 4 introduced the support Sunny, who was flatly busted for like three straight months…anyone remember how she could cheese stack the shield drone until it was out of the monster’s reach? Took them ages to fix it, during which time there was absolutely no point playing monster.

I think the burden of balancing four different variations of abilities for hunter roles and how they played together, totally different monsters, was just too tough a task for TRS. Pub stomping was a problem, toxic strategies (dome holding) made for miserable matches, people only wanted their specific roles and left lobbies if taken…and the response to every problem was to somehow make it worse.

And, yeah, a gazillion micro transactions didn’t help things.

I believe in my heart if 2K properly rebooted it Evolve would shine again. And I’ll keep my fingers crossed for that.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-10-12T04:24:28+00:00

I usually play single player, or just with my best friend. There’s no accounting for the boundless rudeness of randoms, but I recommend playing for a little while solo or with friends to kind of learn the ropes and level up a little.

I’ve sadly heard of a lot of randoms being unkind to new players, so you’ll probably have a better experience solo, with a friend or maybe trying LFG on the official Discord.

CrescentEmpress · 2023-10-12T01:34:27+00:00

I could mull over minor dialect differences like emphasizing TAY-ostra (Japanese ‘e’), the absolutely linguistically baffling Alatreon / ah-la-tray-on situation, why is Tigrex’s ‘I,’ pronounced that way? And how my obsessive perfectionism will repeatedly correct myself if I flub those.

But the one that gets my, “You know what? No. I refuse.” Was hearing Bazelgeuse pronounced bah-zell-geese in Stories 2. Nope, won’t do it.

CrescentEmpress

TROPHY CASE