Journal of a Mostly Self-Found Soloer

[GuntherBovine]

I like to give advice to new players on how to make money (see my Make Money Fast thread). I will see in those threads veterans who say something like "It is totally possible to get to 20 with the gear out of the chests and still have fun and be effective." Is that true? Could I make it to level 20 with only gear out of chests? It would make the game much harder, but the finds more interesting. I thought I would give it a try.

So here are my ground rules for this character:
1. I can't buy anything from pawn vendors
2. I can buy anything for a shop with a fixed inventory
3. I can buy anything from a favor vendor
4. I can buy from the AH anything I can currently buy from #2 or #3 as well as tomes, portable holes, dragonshards and collectables (I have to have something to spend my money on)
5. I can only buy from the Trade Channel the items in #4
6. No restrictions on sells
7. Untwinked (i.e. nothing given to her by any of my other characters)
8. No festivals
9. Whenever my toon goes up a level, her priority is do all of the quests she has access to of her level on Normal. She can do other quests but not at a difficulty she has already done
9. Do all the optionals possible in a quest (unless several levels over the level of the quest)
10. Smash all the smashables possible in a quest (unless several levels over the level of the quest)
Unrelated to the above list, I am going to have her solo for as long as possible.

I am going to report every time I find something that I would equip.

The build I am playing is a 12 Monk/6 Ranger/2 Rogue.

Thoughts on playing this way
Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6

[GuntherBovine]

I find playing self-found more interesting and yet more frustrating. I am much more excited about quest rewards and chest finds as I actually use them now. On the other hand, I am constantly disappointed on how useless my quest rewards and chest finds are.

This style addresses three addictions I have with normally gaming. One is that I am a clickie-aholic and usually spend a ridiculous amount of time buffing myself with clickies. The second is that I am a weapon set-aholic with weapon sets for every occasion - a weapon set for oozes, for skeletons, for incorporeal undead, for non-skeleton, non-incorporeal undead, for southpaws, etc. The third is that I am a shopaholic and spent way too much cruising pawn vendors and the AH for goodies. These three addictions cause my backpack to always be close to overflowing. These addictions aren't an issue with self-found. Poor clickie drops means not a lot of time buffing with clickies. Poor weapon drop means my best weapon is generally better than my best occasion-specific weapon (though I still have a lot of weapon sets). Self-found means no shopping to buy (though I shop on the AH to set auction prices).

I had never noticed before how weapon-heavy chests and quest rewards are.

You have to have "The Catacombs" adventure pack to do this. It is the only source through level 6 of Ghost Touch weapons and fighting incorporeal mobs without them is really unfun.

[GuntherBovine]

Useful finds for equipping
Soren's Handwraps - Quest reward of "The Grotto" (Quest #1)
Rugged Belt - Quest reward of "The Storehouse's Secret" (Quest #2)
Rusty Longsword - Found in "Heyton's Rest" (Quest #3)
Amulet of Inner Focus - Quest reward of "Heyton's Rest" (Quest #3)
Spear Bane - Quest reward of "The Cannith Crystal" (Quest #4)
Min's Handwraps - Quest reward of "The Collaborator" (Quest #5)
Feather Cloak - Quest reward of "Redemption" (Quest #6)
Goggles of Insight - Quest reward of "Necromancer's Doom" (Quest #7)
Pathfinder's Boots - Quest reward of "Sacrifices" (Quest #8)

Summary
Pretty much a standard level 1 at Korthos. I took the Soren's Handwraps not knowing that I could get better handwraps after "The Collaborator". I should have taken the Ember Heavy Mace.

[GuntherBovine]

Equipment
Weapons: Min's Handwraps, Ember Shortbow
Head: Nothing
Neck: Amulet of Inner Focus
Eyes: Goggles of Insight
Trinket: Nothing
Armor: Nothing
Cloak: Feather Cloak
Wrists: Spear Bane
Waist: Rugged Belt
Fingers: Nothing
Feet: Pathfinder's Boots
Hands: Nothing
Wealth: 3 plat

Useful finds for equipping
Pathfinder's Necklace - Quest reward of "Misery's Peak" (Quest #1)
I bought a +1 Longbow from Dragon Tooth Arms. I don't expect better weapons for a while
+1 Balance ring - Found in "Durk's Got A Secret" (Quest #7)

Quests with no finds useful for equipping
Stealthy Repossession (Quest #2)
The Smuggler's Warehouse (Quest #3)
Protect Baudry's Interests (Quest #4)
Stop Hazadill's Shipment (Quest #5)
Retrieve the Stolen Goods (Quest #6)
Walk the Butcher's Path (Quest #8)

Summary
Doing pretty well given that she is running around in her underwear

[GuntherBovine]

Equipment
Weapons: Min's Handwraps, +1 Longbow
Head: Nothing
Neck: Pathfinder's Necklace
Eyes: Goggles of Insight
Trinket: Nothing
Armor: Nothing
Cloak: Feather Cloak
Wrists: Spear Bane
Waist: Rugged Belt
Fingers: +1 Balance ring
Feet: Pathfinder's Boots
Hands: Nothing
Wealth: 5,982 plat

Useful finds for equipping
+3 Open Locks ring - Quest reward for "Kobold Assualt" (Quest #2)
Outift of Lesser Cold Resistance - Quest reward for "Redfang the Unruled" (Quest #5)
Bracers of Assistance - Quest reward of "The Cannith Crystal" HARD (Quest #6)
Troubleshooter's Goggles - Quest reward of "Sacrifices" HARD (Quest #7)
+3 Disable Device Goggles - Found in "The Captives" (Quest #8)
+1 Handwraps - Quest reward of "The Captives" (Quest #8)
+3 Hide Cloak - Found in "The Kobold's Den: Clan Gnashtooth" (Quest #9)
+3 Listening Hat - Found in "The Kobold's Den: Rescuing Arlos" (Quest #10)
Cloak of Bless (CL1, 3/rest) - Found in "The Kobold's Den: Rescuing Arlos" (Quest #10)
Ruined Signet Brooch (my first trinket or otherwise junk) - Found in "The Swiped Signet" (Quest #11)
+3 Concentration Mask - Quest reward of "The Swiped Signet" (Quest #11)
Lesser Fire Guard Outfit - Quest reward of "Information is Key" (Quest #18)
Outfit of Owl's Wisdom (CL3, 1/rest) - Quest reward of "Recovering the Lost Tome" (Quest #19)

Quests with no finds useful for equipping
Where There's Smoke... (Quest #1)
An Explosive Situation (Quest #3)
Home Sweet Sewer (Quest #4)
First Strike (Quest #12)
The Hobgoblins' Captives (Quest #13)
The Miller's Debt (Quest #14)
Haverdasher (Quest #15)
Arachnophobia (Quest #16)
Bringing the Light (Quest #17)

Summary
* In "Redfang the Unruled", I was having a trouble spotting traps and finding the secret door
* So I interrupted my level 3 quests to get Troubleshooter's Goggles
* Bracers of Assistance are really helpful, so I snagged them while in Korthos
* "The Captives" was very challenging for me and my health was in the single digits a number of times in that quest
* In "The Swiped Signet", I opened the room with Sizzle in it and I couldn't damage him faster then he healed. I ended up running away, getting the signet and then recalling
* I bought Tangleroot and decided to run that
* Clamor killed me when I faced him
* I went back and killed Clamor, though he almost killed me again
* I went down in the scorpion pit in "The Hobgoblins' Captives" and was killed. I re-did the quest and buffed up before going down in that pit again
* 8 of the 17 non-Korthos quests resulted in something that is worth equipping

[GuntherBovine]

Equipment
Weapons: Min's Handwraps, +1 Longbow, +1 Handwraps
Head: +3 Concentration Mask
Neck: Pathfinder's Necklace
Eyes: Goggles of Insight, Troubleshooter's Goggles, +3 Disable Device Goggles
Trinket: Ruined Signet Brooch
Armor: Lesser Fire Guard Outfit, Outfit of Owl's Wisdom (CL3, 1/rest)
Cloak: Cloak of Bless (CL1, 3/rest), Feather Cloak, +3 Hide Cloak
Wrists: Spear Bane, Bracers of Assistance
Waist: Rugged Belt
Fingers: +1 Balance ring, +3 Open Locks ring
Feet: Pathfinder's Boots
Hands: Nothing
Wealth: 62,230 plat

Useful finds for equipping
+1 Resistance Cloak - Found in "Venn's Trail: Clan Tunnelworm" (Quest #1)
+3 Heal Gloves - Found in "Venn's Trail: Venn's Fate" (Quest #2) (crappy, but I don't have any other gloves)
Boots of Invisibility (CL3, 3/rest) - Quest reward for "Venn's Trail: Venn's Fate" (Quest #2) (taken over Black Widow Bracers and Acrobat's Ring)
Feather Fall Robe (CL1, 3/rest) - Quest reward from the Harbormaster for the WW chain
+1 Kama of Lesser Reptilian Bane - For turning in an Icon of Khyber collectable
Proof Against Poison Necklace - Quest reward of "Stand Your Ground" (Quest #3)
Lesser Lightning Guard Robe of Lesser Sonic Resistance - Quest reward of "Dirty Laundry" (Quest #4)
Sacred Robe of Command - Quest reward of "Repossession" (Quest #7)
Nicked Longbow (+1, 1-6 Shock, +2 Seeker) - Quest reward of "Come Out and Slay" (Quest #8)
+1 Seeker+2 Handwraps - Quest reward of "The Depths of Despair" (Quest #9)
Necklace of Cat's Grace (CL3, 1/rest) - Found in "The Depths of Darkness" (Quest #10)
+2 Kama - Quest reward of "Rest for the Restless" (Quest #16)
+3 Haggling Necklace - For turning in a Tome: Codes of The Aurum collectable
Outfit of Expeditious Retreat (CL1, 3/rest) - Quest reward of "Retrieve the Stolen Goods" HARD (Quest #20)
Protector's Gloves - Quest reward of "Sacrifices" ELITE (Quest #25)

Quests with no finds useful for equipping
The Stormreaver Fresco (Quest #5)
The Bookbinder Rescue (Quest #6)
The Storehouse's Secret HARD (Quest #11)
The Collaborator HARD (Quest #12)
Protect Baudry's Interests HARD (Quest #13)
Stealthy Repossession HARD (Quest #14)
Freshen the Air (Quest #15)
Yarkuch's War-plans (Quest #17)
Whisperdoom's Spawn (Quest #18)
Stop Hazadill's Shipment HARD (Quest #19)
Durk's Got A Secret HARD (Quest #21)
Walk the Butcher's Path HARD (Quest #22)
Misery's Peak HARD (Quest #23)
The Smuggler's Warehouse HARD (Quest #24)

Summary
* No troubles with traps or secret doors
* For the most part, I had no trouble with quests
* I died in "Freshen the Air". I was doing really well, smashed all the crates and then basically tried to sprint to the shrine and activated way too many enemies. I did it again and once I got up to the ledge, I took my time clearing the shamans and throwers before approaching the door to the shrine
* I am postponing to next level the party quests - "Irestone Inlet" and "Proof is in the Poison". I probably should have postponed "Freshen the Air"
* Once I finished the level 4 quests, I focused on Free Agent favor quests as I want to get access to their +2 Thieves' Tools
* I tried to do "Stealthy Repossession" on ELITE for my last quest, wasn't stealthy enough, tried to sprint through it, got a Red Dungeon Alert and was killed. I did "Sacrifices" instead to get 75 Free Agent favor
* 9 of the 14 level 4 quests resulted in something that is worth equipping
* Only 1 of the 10 level 2 quests on Hard resulted in something that is worth equipping
* I am happy with my main bow and my clickie collection. I am OK with my main handwraps. My armor is pathetic
* I don't have much in the way of alternative weapons to use in special situations. Having no Ghost Touch weapons will keep me from doing quests with Wraithes

[GuntherBovine]

Equipment
Weapons: +1 Seeker+2 Handwraps, Min's Handwraps, Nicked Longbow (+1, 1-6 Shock, +2 Seeker), +2 Kama
Head: +3 Concentration Mask
Neck: Pathfinder's Necklace, +3 Haggling Necklace, Proof Against Poison Necklace, Necklace of Cat's Grace (CL3, 1/rest)
Eyes: Goggles of Insight, Troubleshooter's Goggles, +3 Disable Device Goggles
Trinket: Ruined Signet Brooch
Armor: Lesser Lightning Guard Robe of Lesser Sonic Resistance, Outfit of Owl's Wisdom (CL3, 1/rest), Feather Fall Robe (CL1, 3/rest), Sacred Robe of Command, Outfit of Expeditious Retreat (CL1, 3/rest)
Cloak: +1 Resistance Cloak, Cloak of Bless (CL1, 3/rest), +3 Hide Cloak
Wrists: Spear Bane, Bracers of Assistance
Waist: Rugged Belt
Fingers: +1 Balance ring, +3 Open Locks ring
Feet: Pathfinder's Boots, Boots of Invisibility (CL3, 3/rest)
Hands: Protector's Gloves, +3 Heal Gloves
Wealth: 110K plat

Useful finds for equipping
Curative Cloak - Quest reward of "Redemption" HARD (Quest #8)
Bracers of Assistance - Quest reward of "The Cannith Crystal" ELITE (Quest #10)
+3 Move Silently boots - Found in "Irestone Inlet" (Quest #15)
Cloak of Lesser Restoration (CL3, 1/rest) - Found in "Irestone Inlet" (Quest #15)
Ring of Light Fortification - Found in "Proof is in the Poison" (Quest #16)
Curative Cloak - Quest reward of "Redemption" ELITE (Quest #19)


Quests with no finds useful for equipping
Archer Point Defense (Quest #1)
The Depths of Discord (Quest #2)
The Depths of Doom (Quest #3)
The Deadly Package: The Stronghold Key (Quest #4)
The Deadly Package: Agent of the Darguul (Quest #5)
Stopping the Sahuagin (Quest #6)
Heyton's Rest HARD (Quest #7)
Necromancer's Doom HARD (Quest #9)
The Storehouse's Secret ELITE (Quest #11)
Heyton's Rest ELITE (Quest #12)
The Collaborator ELITE (Quest #13)
The Lair of Summoning (Quest #14)
Stopping the Sahuagin HARD (Quest #17)
Stopping the Sahuagin ELITE (Quest #18)
Necromancer's Doom ELITE (Quest #20)
The Sunken Sewer (Quest #21)
Garrison's Missing Pack (Quest #22)
The Kobolds' New Ringleader (Quest #23)
Missing in Action (Quest #24)
Haverdasher HARD (Quest #25)

Summary
* This build has been so good at killing stuff in melee quickly that I have gotten sloppy in my combat habits, allowing her to get surrounded by mobs. In "Archer Point Defense", my sloppiness caught up to me and she couldn't complete the quest on time because she had to spend so much time healing up between fights. I redid the quest, stepping back when facing a big group, didn't take nearly as much damage and completed the quest
* In "The Depths of Discord", my wraps were doing yellow damage against Landslide and Landslide took me to 4 hp. He would have killed me but I ran away from him and then killed him with my bow.
* I was running into carrying capacity problems, so I took a break in the level 5 quests after "The Deadly Package" quests to do some Korthos quests to get 75 Coin Lord favor
* In "The Lair of Summoning", my handwraps were doing nothing against the boss fire elemental. I killed the mephits in melee and then I pulled out the bow to kill the boss fire elemental. Evasion FTW!
* I can't do "The Chamber of Insanity" without a Ghost Touch weapon and I can't do "The Mystery of Delera's Tomb" without something that will damage the Ghostly Skeletons
* After "The Lair of Summoning", I didn't have any more level 5 quests I could do, so I did the level 4 party quests
* I stupidly bought a wand of Protection from Energy for "Proof is in the Poison". The constant Melf's Acid Arrow chewed up each charge where as a Resist Energy would have stopped the Melf's without being consumed
* Once I finished my level 4 quests, I brought all of the Korthos quests except "Misery's Peak" up to Elite, did all of the level 2 quests I hadn't done and then started getting all of my level 2 quests up to Hard
* A really disappointing level in terms of new equipment: 6 items, 3 of which were Korthos quest reward items
* Of my 11 clothing/jewelry slots, 6 have Korthos quest reward items and 2 are +1 junk. The only useful items I have found that I equip are a +3 Concentration mask, a Cloak of +1 Resistance (redundant with the Pathfinders set) and a Ring of Light Fortification

[GuntherBovine]

Equipment
Weapons: +1 Seeker+2 Handwraps, Min's Handwraps, Nicked Longbow (+1, 1-6 Shock, +2 Seeker), +2 Kama
Head: +3 Concentration Mask
Neck: Pathfinder's Necklace, +3 Haggling Necklace, Proof Against Poison Necklace, Necklace of Cat's Grace (CL3, 1/rest)
Eyes: Goggles of Insight, Troubleshooter's Goggles, +3 Disable Device Goggles
Trinket: Ruined Signet Brooch
Armor: Lesser Lightning Guard Robe of Lesser Sonic Resistance, Outfit of Owl's Wisdom (CL3, 1/rest), Feather Fall Robe (CL1, 3/rest), Sacred Robe of Command, Outfit of Expeditious Retreat (CL1, 3/rest)
Cloak: +1 Resistance Cloak, Cloak of Bless (CL1, 3/rest), +3 Hide Cloak, Cloak of Lesser Restoration (CL3, 1/rest), 2xCurative Cloak
Wrists: Spear Bane, 2xBracers of Assistance
Waist: Rugged Belt
Fingers: +1 Balance ring, +3 Open Locks ring, Ring of Light Fortification
Feet: Pathfinder's Boots, Boots of Invisibility (CL3, 3/rest)
Hands: Protector's Gloves, +3 Heal Gloves
Wealth: 133K plat

Useful finds for equipping
Ice Guard Outfit (over +2 Handwraps) - Quest reward of "Dead Predators" (Quest #2)
+2 Handwraps - Quest reward of "The Forgotten Caverns" (Quest #3)
+3 Handwraps - Quest reward of "Purge the Heretics" (Quest #4)
+2 Dexterity Gloves - Quest reward of "Stand Your Ground" HARD (Quest #14)
+1 Wisdom Necklace - Quest reward of "The Stormreaver Fresco" HARD (Quest #16)
+5 Heal Bracers - Quest reward of "The Bookbinder Rescue" HARD (Quest #17)
+3 Jump Goggles - Quest reward of "Recovering the Lost Tome" Hard (Quest #21)
Moss Weave Cloak - Quest chain reward of "Venn's Trail: Venn's Fate" HARD (Quest #23)
Outfit of Remove Fear (CL1, 3/rest) - Quest reward of "The Kobolds' New Ringleader" HARD (Quest #24)
Pillar of Light (+1 Quarterstaff, Pure Good, Searing Light) - Quest chain reward of "Endgame: The Archbishop's Fate" (Quest #35)

Quests with no finds useful for equipping
Caged Trolls (Quest #1)
Mirra's Sleepless Nights (Quest #5)
Ruined Halls (Quest #6)
The Bounty Hunter (Quest #7)
Doom of the Witch-doctor: The Way to Zulkash (Quest #8)
Doom of the Witch-doctor: Zulkash, Herald of Woe (Quest #9)
The Iron Mines: Freeing Achka (Quest #10)
The Iron Mines: Justice for Grust (Quest #11)
Valak's Mausoleum (Quest #12)
The Chamber of Insanity (Quest #13)
Dirty Laundry HARD (Quest #15)
Repossession HARD (Quest #18)
The Kobold's Den: Clan Gnashtooth HARD (Quest #19)
The Kobold's Den: Rescuing Arlos HARD (Quest #20)
Venn's Trail: Clan Tunnelworm HARD (Quest #22)
Garrison's Missing Pack HARD (Quest #25)
The Sunken Sewer HARD (Quest #26)
Missing in Action HARD (Quest #27)
The Friar's Niece (Quest #28)
Return to the Sanctuary (Quest #29)
The Old Archives (Quest #30)
The Crypt of Gerard Dryden (Quest #31)
Setting the Wards: The Lower Cathedral (Quest #32)
Setting the Wards: The Patriarchs' Crypt (Quest #33)
Endgame: Marguerite (Quest #34)


Summary
* When I leveled up, I reset my enhancements. I dropped Void Strike I, Ranger Sprint Boost I and Monk Wisdom I. I wasn't using the Void Strike and with the bonuses from the Light finishing moves, I want to concentrate on the Light, Fire and Lightning strikes. With the cloak of Exp Reteat, I wasn't using the Sprint Boost. Without a +1 Wisdom item, the Monk Wisdom was pointless. I added Monk Improved Recover I and Elven Ranged Attack I
* I got my first +3 weapon quest reward with "Caged Trolls". Sadly, it was a +3 quarterstaff
* I struggled badly in "The Forgotten Caverns". Maybe I was spending too much time with the monk moves and not enough whacking on things? Trolls are tough for a solo player as they regenerate and the regenerating doesn't scale. I would shoot one with a bow and it would heal all the damage by the time it reached me
* I did really well on "Purge the Heretics" until the final battle. There, I got blinded right away and I was incredulous that I was blinded as I purposely took my blindness ward goggles on this mission. However, I apparently switched to by goggles of disabling and didn't switch back. Fortunately, I had a cure blindness potion to quaff. However, I had lost the momentum at that point and ended running away to heal. Two regenerating red bosses are a tough fight for me
* I saw my first ML 5 as a quest reward item for "Ruined Halls". However, it was vendor trash item that I passed on
* With the exception of "Caged Trolls", every level 6 with a quest reward had +2 Handwraps in the reward list
* I am going to leave the following party quests for next level: Gladewatch Outpost Defense, Redwillow's Ruins
* After I did all of my level 6 quests, I did the leftover level 5 "The Chamber of Insanity"
* After that, I started doing Coin Lord favor quests to get to 150 favor and unlock the 5th inventory tab
* While researching quest chain rewards for Tangleroot Gorge and Delara's, I realized that I really need the handwraps quest chain reward from "The Catacombs". I wasn't going to do that quest chain, but I am not getting anything to handle the more challenging undead
* When I finished "The Catacombs", the Eternal Rest handwraps were not in my reward list, much to my disappointment. I took the Pillar of Light
* The Pillar of Light did well on the Ghostly Skeletons of "The Mystery of Delera's Tomb"
* I plan to re-run "The Catacombs" the next level