Difference between revisions of "Hardly-Able, The nekkid throw barb"

From Basin Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
m (→‎Nightmarish Experiences: Removed broken links to images)
m (→‎Hardly_ABle's Journey Through Hell, Part 1: Removed broken links to images)
Line 105: Line 105:
 
<br>
 
<br>
  
== Hardly_ABle's Journey Through Hell, Part 1 ==
+
==Journey Through Hell, Part 1 ==
  
 
I wish I could regale you with a stirring tale of battle, and pictures that would show the glory of each passing moment.  Alas, I am but a simple narrator, so I will dispense with the introduction and lead you straight into the battle:
 
I wish I could regale you with a stirring tale of battle, and pictures that would show the glory of each passing moment.  Alas, I am but a simple narrator, so I will dispense with the introduction and lead you straight into the battle:
Line 116: Line 116:
  
 
The other tactical thing about Hardly is the use of his most important skill--Taunt.  This is without doubt the skill without which Hardly would have stopped halfway through nightmare.  Below you can see how the lay of the land and taunt can make a mean bosspack of skeleton archers manageable.
 
The other tactical thing about Hardly is the use of his most important skill--Taunt.  This is without doubt the skill without which Hardly would have stopped halfway through nightmare.  Below you can see how the lay of the land and taunt can make a mean bosspack of skeleton archers manageable.
 
http://sheridan.freewebpage.org/diablo/images/HA-hell-darkwoodboss.jpg
 
  
 
That's right, taunt out all the minions, slay them one at a time, then off the boss.  Rinse and repeat.  After about 20 minutes to taunt his way though the western end of the Dark Wood, Hardly meets up with Treehead Woodfist, which was actually not much of a battle.  The pack did not all rush at Haseen and Hardly, so they were dispatched in twos and threes.  Cain's rescue was not very difficult, and now Hardly could again listen to the old coot's stories.
 
That's right, taunt out all the minions, slay them one at a time, then off the boss.  Rinse and repeat.  After about 20 minutes to taunt his way though the western end of the Dark Wood, Hardly meets up with Treehead Woodfist, which was actually not much of a battle.  The pack did not all rush at Haseen and Hardly, so they were dispatched in twos and threes.  Cain's rescue was not very difficult, and now Hardly could again listen to the old coot's stories.
Line 124: Line 122:
  
 
When Hardly returned to the Dark Wood--he found that this time the Eastern section was rife with bosses.  No less than five boss packs were roaming the Eastern Dark Wood, and this time many were enchanted with holy freeze.  As an aside, let me say again cold is Hardly's worst nightmare.  Anything that slows the missiles means that Hardly is in trouble.  Here's one of the bosses that Hardly faced.
 
When Hardly returned to the Dark Wood--he found that this time the Eastern section was rife with bosses.  No less than five boss packs were roaming the Eastern Dark Wood, and this time many were enchanted with holy freeze.  As an aside, let me say again cold is Hardly's worst nightmare.  Anything that slows the missiles means that Hardly is in trouble.  Here's one of the bosses that Hardly faced.
 
http://sheridan.freewebpage.org/diablo/images/HA-hell-darkwoodboss2.jpg
 
 
  
 
Extra fast corrupted rogues means that Hardly has to get Haseen to lock onto the pack, or run away...if one of those lovely gals stops to give Hardly a smooch, well, let's just say he falls easily :P.  Yet another of the quill rat bosses ends the parade for the evening in the Dark Wood.
 
Extra fast corrupted rogues means that Hardly has to get Haseen to lock onto the pack, or run away...if one of those lovely gals stops to give Hardly a smooch, well, let's just say he falls easily :P.  Yet another of the quill rat bosses ends the parade for the evening in the Dark Wood.
 
http://sheridan.freewebpage.org/diablo/images/HA-hell-darkwoodboss3.jpg
 
  
 
Yeah, positioning in the sweet spot (and good tanking by Haseen) is needed to avoid those nasty double enchanted sparks.  Hardly also took care to stay out of range of the aura, so he could chuck at will.
 
Yeah, positioning in the sweet spot (and good tanking by Haseen) is needed to avoid those nasty double enchanted sparks.  Hardly also took care to stay out of range of the aura, so he could chuck at will.
Line 139: Line 132:
  
 
Next up, the Barracks and the Jail.  Hardly started this journey again with InspiredHope at his side.  The two companions managed their way though throngs of devilkins and their shamen.  Taunt was again their friend, though at times, some advancing to the rear was needed.  The Smith fell without a fuss--more troubling was the Shamen boss located on the opposite side of the Smith's Forge.  Hardly bid InspiredHope au revoir at the Jail waypoint, and returned again to the rogue's camp for some needed rest.  The biggest thrill of the evening was a white flying axe that dropped in the jail.  Hardly asked Charsi to imbue this nice axe, and the result was not too shabby.
 
Next up, the Barracks and the Jail.  Hardly started this journey again with InspiredHope at his side.  The two companions managed their way though throngs of devilkins and their shamen.  Taunt was again their friend, though at times, some advancing to the rear was needed.  The Smith fell without a fuss--more troubling was the Shamen boss located on the opposite side of the Smith's Forge.  Hardly bid InspiredHope au revoir at the Jail waypoint, and returned again to the rogue's camp for some needed rest.  The biggest thrill of the evening was a white flying axe that dropped in the jail.  Hardly asked Charsi to imbue this nice axe, and the result was not too shabby.
 
http://sheridan.freewebpage.org/diablo/images/HA-hell-flyingaxe.jpg
 
  
 
Not an everyday weapon, mind you (Hardly's cruel throwing spears were higher damage), but a good change of pace, and the pmh could come in handy for an act boss.
 
Not an everyday weapon, mind you (Hardly's cruel throwing spears were higher damage), but a good change of pace, and the pmh could come in handy for an act boss.
Line 146: Line 137:
 
Hardly returned to the jail, and though the going was tough, he managed to make it to the third level unscathed, even after facing off with Pitspawn Fouldog, who managed to take out Haseen a couple of times before sucumbing to multiple spearings.  When Hardly got to the third level of the jail, things got bad in a hurry.
 
Hardly returned to the jail, and though the going was tough, he managed to make it to the third level unscathed, even after facing off with Pitspawn Fouldog, who managed to take out Haseen a couple of times before sucumbing to multiple spearings.  When Hardly got to the third level of the jail, things got bad in a hurry.
  
http://sheridan.freewebpage.org/diablo/images/HA-hell-jailpi.jpg
+
Though I've cut it off in the shot, that's an extra fast, magic resistant, stone skin (PI/FI) goat boss, whose minions slaughtered Haseen and Hardly within a few short seconds.  Hardly grabbed the arcing weapons, re-engaged, and the pack still managed to chase him back to the stairs from the initial ambush.  Nasty group.  After that fiasco, Hardly made his way to the Inner Cloister, where he again met up with InspiredHope, and began the descent into the Catacombs through the Cathedral.  Hardly and InspiredHope managed to make their way down though the catacombs to face Andarial...before a lousy connection forced Hardly to abandon the fight. [Note: I dropped at least a dozen times as we went down to Andy]. Finally, I couldn't get the connection back, until Shadow had left the game--after we spawned Andarial.  Needless to say, I was frustrated.]
  
Though I've cut it off in the shot, that's an extra fast, magic resistant, stone skin (PI/FI) goat boss, whose minions slaughtered Haseen and Hardly within a few short seconds.  Hardly grabbed the arcing weapons, re-engaged, and the pack still managed to chase him back to the stairs from the initial ambush.  Nasty group.  After that fiasco, Hardly made his way to the Inner Cloister, where he again met up with InspiredHope, and began the descent into the Catacombs through the Cathedral.  Hardly and InspiredHope managed to make their way down though the catacombs to face Andarial...before a lousy connection forced Hardly to abandon the fight. [Note: I dropped at least a dozen times as we went down to Andy].  Finally, I couldn't get the connection back, until Shadow had left the game--after we spawned Andarial.  Needless to say, I was frustrated.]
 
  
<b>Andarial Part II</b>
+
;Andarial Part II
  
 
After Hardly readjusted himself to remain in Sanctuary [i.e., make sure modem is working well :P], he began again his decent to meet the demon queen Andariel.  Haseen was trying his best to tank the various denizens of the catacombs, but he continued to die in his master's service.  Returning him from the void was beginning to take a toll on Hardly's purse, and when the pair finally reached the final level of the catacombs...Hardly had less than 50,000 gold to his name.  The two discussed tactics for the antechamber, and Andariel's lair.  The antechamber would be cleared with the normal shamen taunting.  After opening the door to the lair, the pair would head right, dispatch the shamen and his minions quickly, then clear out the front of the lair, hopefully killing the second shamen and his pack before the demon queen emerged.
 
After Hardly readjusted himself to remain in Sanctuary [i.e., make sure modem is working well :P], he began again his decent to meet the demon queen Andariel.  Haseen was trying his best to tank the various denizens of the catacombs, but he continued to die in his master's service.  Returning him from the void was beginning to take a toll on Hardly's purse, and when the pair finally reached the final level of the catacombs...Hardly had less than 50,000 gold to his name.  The two discussed tactics for the antechamber, and Andariel's lair.  The antechamber would be cleared with the normal shamen taunting.  After opening the door to the lair, the pair would head right, dispatch the shamen and his minions quickly, then clear out the front of the lair, hopefully killing the second shamen and his pack before the demon queen emerged.
Line 159: Line 149:
  
 
Haseen and Hardly looked at each other, knowing this night would be their third and perhaps final attempt to slay the Demon Queen Andariel.  They stepped off the waypoint in the Catacombs, and began their journey.  Not far from the waypoint, they had their first difficult fight.
 
Haseen and Hardly looked at each other, knowing this night would be their third and perhaps final attempt to slay the Demon Queen Andariel.  They stepped off the waypoint in the Catacombs, and began their journey.  Not far from the waypoint, they had their first difficult fight.
 
http://sheridan.freewebpage.org/diablo/images/Ha-hell-cats2boss.jpg
 
  
 
It took Hardly about 15 minutes to dispatch this spider and its pack, and that was just the beginning.  Hardly faced two cold enchanted, lightning enchated shamen bosses in a row...at one point, he was down to 7500 gold, with Haseed lying mostly dead.  Luckily, Hardly had been holding onto a wand with lifetap charges, which when sold gave him enough gold to pay off Miracle Max once more, and restore Haseen to his side.  That was the low point of the journey, but Hardly and Hassen managed to dispatch that last Shaman boss, nd made their way to the final showdown with Andariel.  Along the way, Haseen suggested that Hardly hold onto valuable items for future sale--thus avoiding losing any money when waking up in town face down.  Smart Desert Man, that Haseen.
 
It took Hardly about 15 minutes to dispatch this spider and its pack, and that was just the beginning.  Hardly faced two cold enchanted, lightning enchated shamen bosses in a row...at one point, he was down to 7500 gold, with Haseed lying mostly dead.  Luckily, Hardly had been holding onto a wand with lifetap charges, which when sold gave him enough gold to pay off Miracle Max once more, and restore Haseen to his side.  That was the low point of the journey, but Hardly and Hassen managed to dispatch that last Shaman boss, nd made their way to the final showdown with Andariel.  Along the way, Haseen suggested that Hardly hold onto valuable items for future sale--thus avoiding losing any money when waking up in town face down.  Smart Desert Man, that Haseen.
Line 169: Line 157:
  
 
Slowly, Hardly could see that his tactics, and his axes and spears, were taking their toll on Andariel.  He pressed the attack, trying to launch two waves of missiles her way each attack.  This was not without cost, as Hardly was exposing himself more to her melee attack...and Temping Fate (tm) more than a few times.  At last...Hardly threw one last spear at the hellspawn....
 
Slowly, Hardly could see that his tactics, and his axes and spears, were taking their toll on Andariel.  He pressed the attack, trying to launch two waves of missiles her way each attack.  This was not without cost, as Hardly was exposing himself more to her melee attack...and Temping Fate (tm) more than a few times.  At last...Hardly threw one last spear at the hellspawn....
 
http://sheridan.freewebpage.org/diablo/images/HA-hell-andydemise.jpg
 
  
 
Upon his return to the Rogues Camp, even Gheed was getting into the spirit.
 
Upon his return to the Rogues Camp, even Gheed was getting into the spirit.
 
http://sheridan.freewebpage.org/diablo/images/HA-hell-party999.jpg
 
  
 
A few (dozen) ales later, and Hardly_Able is ready for the next part of his journey.  Time to take Haseen home to the Desert, and to Lut Gholein.
 
A few (dozen) ales later, and Hardly_Able is ready for the next part of his journey.  Time to take Haseen home to the Desert, and to Lut Gholein.
 
http://sheridan.freewebpage.org/diablo/images/HA-hell-caravan.jpg
 
 
  
 
== Hardly_Able's Journey Through Hell Part 2A ==
 
== Hardly_Able's Journey Through Hell Part 2A ==

Revision as of 10:33, 11 September 2013