Most expensive Orchard run yet

[brian14]

Last night I decided to do a solo Orchard run -- "solo" as in "with cleric 8 hireling", as it is near-impossible for a Ranger 10 otherwise.

I've gotten pretty good at slaying Firenze, so that's where we head first. No Firenze, at either first or second spawn location. Sigh. I had not yet seen Eastern Falls, or Otvos Gisun who spawns there, so we continue east. Through a mountain pass and an Undying Centurion who guards it (what IS armor class of these bastards?), on to eastern shrine, and continue east. We get jumped by several golem escorts and a vampire. I manage to beat them off, but my cleric is dead. I could take soulstone back to the shrine, but we both are just about out of mana, so I recall, wait for SP to regenerate, and re-enter. Summon full-mana hireling, and we head east again. About same place, we get attacked by SEVERAL vampires, and a burned sacrifice (not sure if that's what it is called -- black, burned-looking, and turns into specter when killed). We both die.

Regenerate at Orchard tavern, and 1500-2000 gp spent on repairs. Forget about Eastern Falls, head west for more familiar territory. Zombie Train had spawned; I already took on it once with just that same hireling, so I think I know what I am doing. Fire/Acid/Cold/Lightning protection on both of us, other buffs, and we attack. What I forgot is, last time I had a quiverful of Human Slaying arrows. Big mistake.

At first, not obviously big mistake. Took care of first set of guards without much trouble. Took more arrows to bring down golem escorts and zombie shepherds, of course, but tolerable. Got hit with Hold Person couple times, but cleric kept mobs off me. And I kill greater hell hounds with one TWF strike -- awesome! As I demolish first wagon, I idly wonder why I saw no harbinger corpses. Because they are not part of first set, that's why!

Wagon 1 collapses, and second set of guards appears, this time with those super-zombies. Again, I target escorts and shepherds, again I get hit with Hold Person... and my hire is way too busy being mobbed to help me. Death #2.

Regenerate, pay another 1500-2000 gp, return to Orchard, summon hireling. Make certain all possible buffs are on both of us, mop up what's left of second set, beat up on Wagon 2. Just before it collapse, make sure AGAIN every possible buff is on. Manage to destroy third set of guards, but my hire is dead. Recall, re-enter, restore all buffs... one thing I cannot restore is my Remove Paralysis clickie which is tapped out.

Smash Wagon 3, engage fourth set of guards. No Remove Paralysis, so when I inevitably get hit with Hold Person, all I can do is rely on the cleric. Cleric dies. I am under 20 hp, I run. Heal myself back to 70-80 hp -- ought to handle two golem escorts and two hell hounds who pursue me. TWF, another hell hound is dead in one strike... not sure what exactly happened, but death #3.

Regenerate, pay another 1500-2000 gp, return to Orchard. Hireling time has run out. Too stubborn to give up, I figure I can take on the remnants of the fourth set alone, and I am right. Chest open.

In the end, I came out ahead. Vuthesjing's gem alone about paid for all the repairs and the cost of hireling, and I got a Greater Cold Resistance cloak and another tap shred. Still, that was more work than ever yet for one chest!

[Nailog]

Why do Orchard at level 10? You can't wear the helmet until you hit 11 anyway, so why not use the Desert to level up / collect named loot and then go back with a bit more power?

[gwlech]

The first time I ever went into the orchard I was alone on a lvl 12 cleric...boy did I get owned...ON A CLERIC for GOD'S SAKE!

The way I learned it, was with two friends who had never been there before. We spent 3 whole nights out there farming chests and learning the rares so that we could get our coveted minos helmets. Yes, we stayed there and kept farming all that awesome loot until we got enough taps for everybody and then an extra set, so we could each sell one on the Auction. It was a really fun time, despite it being hard to do. It sounds like your experience was just like many others have there, but you know what, it gets better with practice and gear, even on a melee. Trust me.

[brian14]

Why do Orchard at level 10? You can't wear the helmet until you hit 11 anyway, so why not use the Desert to level up / collect named loot and then go back with a bit more power?

Because it is fun.

Really. If it is not fun, I don't do it, and I only "farm" this or that if it is enjoyable.

As for being too low level to wear Minor Legens, it is actually working out well. Right now I am about 4,000 xp from level 11, and have 19 tap shreds. Just in time.

Actually, I found 20 taps by now, by traded very first one for STR +1 tome.

I admit doing Orchard runs as Ranger 10 is difficult -- I must either organize a party (which takes a while -- not everyone has Necro 4 package), or get a cleric hireling, and even with cleric I can only go so far. Moreover, to get anywhere I must spend time on AH to buy up appropriate arrows, put them into hotbars, and arrange my quiver so that when one arrow set runs out next one is still appropriate -- last thing you want is hit Firenze with Elemental Bane arrows and suddenly load Flame arrows! Plan routes so I can get from tomb to tomb without being killed by wraiths... etc. More often than not I get only one tap shred in an evening. But as far as I am concerned, all that makes it fun.

[brian14]

BTW, I am still curious about Undying Centurions. They are not the most dangerous trash mobs in Orchard -- Dread Wraiths are much worse, -- but AFAICT they have highest armor class in Orchard, possibly highest of any mob I had met anywhere. I hit them with Destruction weapon first, and still miss half the time afterward.

[gwlech]

BTW, I am still curious about Undying Centurions. They are not the most dangerous trash mobs in Orchard -- Dread Wraiths are much worse, -- but AFAICT they have highest armor class in Orchard, possibly highest of any mob I had met anywhere. I hit them with Destruction weapon first, and still miss half the time afterward.

If you are going to use a hireling, grab an arcane one with firewall. You are a ranger, so you can self-heal with wands if needed, and hirelings like "flare" take care of themselves pretty well.

[Lithic]

If you are going to use a hireling, grab an arcane one with firewall. You are a ranger, so you can self-heal with wands if needed, and hirelings like "flare" take care of themselves pretty well.

Judging by his difficulty in obtaining that one chest, and that his story tells us he thinks 5000gp in repairs is expensive, I would bet the OP does not yet have the resources to carry self-healing as necessary. A few more tap runs should take care of that though, considering their overinflated price on the AH these days

[gwlech]

Judging by his difficulty in obtaining that one chest, and that his story tells us he thinks 5000gp in repairs is expensive, I would bet the OP does not yet have the resources to carry self-healing as necessary. A few more tap runs should take care of that though, considering their overinflated price on the AH these days

Yeah, but who said wands have to be bought? He could easily run the quest "repossession" in the market...run up, collect all the bookshelves right at the start of the quest....will easily get about 1-2 "Wavecrasher" Cargo Manifests a run...buy some cheap lvl 1 hirelings from korthos, pop into "dirty laundry" right next to it, summon hireling, and repossession is reset. Spend 30 minutes gathering a MASSIVE stack of "Wavecrasher" Cargo Manifests and turn them in for more free CMW wands than you know what to do with!

[brian14]

My problem with self-healing is not that it is expensive (my cash reserve has been in 100-300k gp range for a long time), but that it is slow. Switching from weapon to wand, swinging the wand, then switching back to weapon in the middle of battle is counterproductive -- the kind of mobs I fight nowadays inflict more damage during this time than I can heal with a CMW wand or even CSW candycane. I always carry two CMW wands, but only for between-battle healing. Even a candycane is only useful if I can break off an run for a short distance, which is how I got from 20 to 80 hp in OP.

[gwlech]

My problem with self-healing is not that it is expensive (my cash reserve has been in 100-300k gp range for a long time), but that it is slow. Switching from weapon to wand, swinging the wand, then switching back to weapon in the middle of battle is counterproductive -- the kind of mobs I fight nowadays inflict more damage during this time than I can heal with a CMW wand or even CSW candycane. I always carry two CMW wands, but only for between-battle healing. Even a candycane is only useful if I can break off an run for a short distance, which is how I got from 20 to 80 hp in OP.

I guess now the question is, how many hps does this character have? How about Fortification, AC, DR? Alot of the damage in the orchard comes from negative energy, do you have a Visor of the Fleshrender Guards for Deathward? Ghost touch for the wraiths? A deathblock item for the beholder? Blunt weapons for the blackbones? Lesser restore pots/clickies for stat damage? A great deal about running content while either solo or not piking, is about having the right gear for it. Yes gear and proper preparation make a MASSIVE difference.

[brian14]

120 hp; 140 with Bear's Endurance or while holding shield (False Life); 160 with both
AC 27; 29 with shield or shield clicky, I think Cat's Grace brings it up to 30
Main weapon is +5 Frost bow with Imbue Acid, and variety of bane/effect arrows
+2 Adamantine vicious warhammer for blackbones and golems
For wraiths, +1 GT light mace of destruction and +4 GT sword
Have lesser restore pots, remove curse pots, and remove paralysis clickie (the one that ran out in OP) on hotbar
Fearsome armor, which greatly cuts down on attacks by living opponents
Nightgorget for 100% Fortification, but...
The only negative protection item I have is 1/rest Silver Flame Amulet -- and while it's on, I have no fortification. Which is why wraiths are such pain.

BTW, description of Imbue Force Arrows explicitely states that it makes arrows ghost touch, so for a while I had used Imbue Force against wraiths rather than more damaging Imbue Acid. Then one time I used Imbue Acid against a Wheep, and was hitting every time. So it looks like higher "imbues" are also GT.

[gwlech]

120 hp; 140 with Bear's Endurance or while holding shield (False Life); 160 with both
AC 27; 29 with shield or shield clicky, I think Cat's Grace brings it up to 30
Main weapon is +5 Frost bow with Imbue Acid, and variety of bane/effect arrows
+2 Adamantine vicious warhammer for blackbones and golems
For wraiths, +1 GT light mace of destruction and +4 GT sword
Have lesser restore pots, remove curse pots, and remove paralysis clickie (the one that ran out in OP) on hotbar
Fearsome armor, which greatly cuts down on attacks by living opponents
Nightgorget for 100% Fortification, but...
The only negative protection item I have is 1/rest Silver Flame Amulet -- and while it's on, I have no fortification. Which is why wraiths are such pain.

BTW, description of Imbue Force Arrows explicitely states that it makes arrows ghost touch, so for a while I had used Imbue Force against wraiths rather than more damaging Imbue Acid. Then one time I used Imbue Acid against a Wheep, and was hitting every time. So it looks like highes "imbues" are also GT.

I would recommend that you do a couple zergs of tangleroot and get a few visors. They are imo, one of the best items in the game, at any level. They will help to mitigate most of the stat damage and alot of the regular damage in the orchard.

[brian14]

I never ran into Taharesh yet. The only beholder I ever seen so far was end boss in some mining quest (Caverns of Korromar?), and that was with a large party. I carry Aberration Slaying arrows, but do they work on an orange-named?

[brian14]

I would recommend that you do a couple zergs of tangleroot and get a few visors. They are imo, one of the best items in the game, at any level. They will help to mitigate most of the stat damage and alot of the regular damage in the orchard.

Is this a quest item or an outdoor zone item? I never bought Tangleroot package, and know almost nothing about it.

[gwlech]

I never ran into Taharesh yet. The only beholder I ever seen so far was end boss in some mining quest (Caverns of Korromar?), and that was with a large party. I carry Aberration Slaying arrows, but do they work on an orange-named?

The beholder is not resistance to instant death. In fact, with a bow you can snipe him from range pretty easily.

[brian14]

The beholder is not resistance to instant death. In fact, with a bow you can snipe him from range pretty easily.

Nice to know!

I just looked up Visor of the Fleshrender. With 1 use per rest, how is it better than Silver Flame Amulet? Or is it just the matter of doubling the number of deathwards (from 1 to 2/rest)?

[gwlech]

Is this a quest item or an outdoor zone item? I never bought Tangleroot package, and know almost nothing about it.

Tangleroot is a level 3-7 adventure pack. There are various useful end rewards, but the visor trumps them all. How do you get deathward in the first place in this game? As you probably know, deathward and deathblock are two totally different things. You can't buy Deathward scrolls to UMD, and only clerics, fvs, paladins can cast the spell.

The Visor of the Fleshrender Guards is a ML5 item that is ridiculously Overpowered...it gives a 7 minute immunity to ALL negative energy and instant death effects, this includes level drain and stat damage from wraiths touch, and cleric inflict wounds line of spells. It can be dispelled by something like a beholder, but thats why you want deathblock also, to avoid getting instantly killed.

The visor usually shows up in every run, and each time i run a new character through there, i get one. (I have almost 20 visors total) You can even cast it on someone else besides yourself if you choose to do so. Best of all, they are bound to account rather than character.

The silver flame amulet you have, only protects against ONE negative energy affect, then it is discharged.

[brian14]

I see. Yes, it is ridiculously overpowered, and yes it is worth buying Tangleroot package just for it! And if Visor of the Fleshrender is bound to account, I can have my level 4 toon farm it, so she can get the experience.

Just to be clear -- it IS a rare chest item, not quest item?

[Sirea]

I see. Yes, it is ridiculously overpowered, and yes it is worth buying Tangleroot package just for it! And if Visor of the Fleshrender is bound to account, I can have my level 4 toon farm it, so she can get the experience.

Just to be clear -- it IS a rare chest item, not quest item?

They appear randomly on the End Reward list after doing all 7 Chapters of Tangleroot. So unfortunately you may get "skunked" and not have them show up. Might mean a few extra runs, but at least your level 4 toon will get XP at the same time. I like having at least 2 sets on my characters that can't cast the spell themselves.

[brian14]

They appear randomly on the End Reward list after doing all 7 Chapters of Tangleroot. So unfortunately you may get "skunked" and not have them show up. Might mean a few extra runs, but at least your level 4 toon will get XP at the same time. I like having at least 2 sets on my characters that can't cast the spell themselves.

OK, so Visor of Fleshrender is not THAT overpowered. You have to works for it, it is not just lying around the outdoor zone. My main toon will be getting her 20th tap shred a lot sooner than the Visor.

Out of curiousity, what other deathward/deathblock items are there? I already know about upgrading Silver Flame Talisman, but I only bought Necro 1 and Necro 4 packages -- the middle two do not seem to be worth the cost or the effort.