It has begun...

Updates:

Pushed to Hell Andariel and I've done couple dozen runs now that I've settled on a decent map layout (~14 teleports total to get to Andy). I had a better layout at one point (~10 teleports) but accidentally reset the map by starting a Normal game. Not much in the way of drops so far, but I did find a Raven Frost ring last night and I found a 5os Crystal Sword that I can use to make a Call to Arms if I ever acquire the requisite runes. I also have a 4os flail I'll use to make Heart of the Oak if I ever find those runes.

I actually avoided getting Andariel "quest bugged." While I typically wouldn't consider something like that cheating, for the purposes of my "collect one of every item" challenge it would be a pretty significant bug to exploit. I regret it a bit when she drops complete garbage sometimes, but oh well... Probably gonna push for Hell Meph soon so I can really make some progress.

Shitty merc is up to 70 Crushing Blow now that I found a couple of upgrades for him. Should have probably put different things in his weapon sockets, but oh well. The jewel was decent (30%ish ED, +6 min, +4 max) but I probably should have went with the tried-and-true AmnShaelShael for faster attacks, especially with Crushing Blow being his main source of damage. I may decide to wipe the sockets and go with that soon, but I'm not sure yet and it doesn't really matter at this point anyway because he sucks ass.




Also upgraded my Stealth armor to a breast plate base, not that it makes much of a difference other than making my character look cooler.