dr. b

Bump Anybody else still playing? @h2ojunkie @webhead I am still putting a lot of time into D2:R. My Frenzy Barb is now in Act I Hell. Nightmare offered almost no challenge at all. I think Hell will be a different story though. My gear might start limiting me soon. I also started a summoning Necro, which has always been one of my favourite builds. I wasn't going to do it again, but I had to scratch the itch. This character is in Act II NM right now and got there at a blazing fast speed. This is such a fast and fun (and safe) build. At this rate, I might as well go for a Pat/Mat with every class. Druid -- Summoner Druid, later re-spec'd into Wind Druid -- DONE Sorc -- Fireball Sorc, later re-spec'd into Frozen Orb / Fireball Sorc -- DONE Barb -- Double Swing / Frenzy Barb -- In Act I Hell, if lack of gear becomes a problem then I might re-spec into a Singer to increase my odds of finishing Hell Necro -- Summoner / Corpse Explosion -- In Act II NM and can probably clear Hell in a few more days if I don't get distracted Amazon -- Charged Strike / Lightning Fury Javazon -- I found some great gear with my Druid and Sorc, so it should be very doable Assassin -- Trapsin probably -- Traps-based builds are less gear-dependent and I haven't found decent stuff for a Martial Arts build Pally -- Hammerdin probably -- Never played a Hammerdin and they're not super gear dependent, though I could also probably make a Zealot work... but I tried building a Zealot many years ago and found the style of play rather boring. Blessed Hammer might be more fun to work with...

Same same for Show-ha Shoten! #3. I noticed it on the Jump app and thought, "Sure, whatever..." with fairly low expectations. In the end, I wanted it to be longer and I'm pumped for chapter #4 (which of course means it has a high chance of being a let-down chapter )

Dr. Stone I am also enjoying all the other stuff I'm following. PPPPPP continues to be compelling in spite of its flaws. Elusive Samurai is still good stuff. I'm maybe a bit opposite to you re: Ayashimon in that I thought the 1st chapter was strongest, and the following ones were a bit weaker, but I am still interested enough to keep reading it for a while. There are some fun ideas in there. Did you read DB Super 78? Great stuff. Also, I noticed what appears to be a new title on the Jump app (Doron Dororon) as well as a new Choujin X chapter so I gotta check those out later.

The Rangers went wild. Lots of money between Semien and Seager. They’re great infield upgrades but I don’t know yet if they’ll be a good team. Ray is a nice addition for Seattle if he can keep doing what he did in Toronto. I don’t really get the Baez signing for Detroit. They aren’t ready to contend yet, are they..? The Scherzer signing is interesting. I don’t get the Mets The Jays got Gausman and extended Berrios. Two very nice long-term additions to the rotation. They usually aren’t such big spenders, so I like to see it.

Baseball is already BACK in the form of Spring Training. Everybody is in the best shape of their lives! Except for a few guys who showed up to Spring Training fat or injured But they're mostly in the best shape of their lives. Yay! Baseball buds @Garlic Junior @Eizan are you ready for the season to start!? Who are you cheering for this year, what are you looking forward to seeing, etc., etc. @Vic Boss you gonna be watching the Jays this summer? Jays in 30, at least? It's a weird start to the season for Toronto, as they'll be playing their home games in Dunedin at first. Florida has been horrible for the Raptors this season () so I hope the Jays get off to a decent start down there. It sucks not having a place to truly call home, but last summer they did OK in Buffalo. They were almost at an extra advantage at their games in Buffalo. The road teams complained about the facilities, lighting, etc. because it's a minor league stadium even though the Jays put a lot of money into upgrading the place. Maybe they can use the park in Dunedin to their advantage too. OK, Blue Jays! Let's... Play... Ball!

I'm all caught up on Ranking of Kings now. I am really enjoying it. It's a bit random over the first few episodes. Quite a lot happens at a fairly fast pace. I like where it's going though!

watched the first two episodes tonight. It’s good! A bit random, but good. Bojji is a cute little doofus, easy to cheer for. I love an underdog. And Kage's story was surprisingly touching and compelling too. I will for sure keep watching. I just need to renew my Funi subscription first, because watching with so many ads is excruciating

A new member of the I-beat-Hell club: Patriarch howlinwolf the Wind Druid I thought the Assassin was waaaay cooler than the Druid when LoD released back in the day, so I didn't spend much time with the Druid. I still think the Assassin is a really fun class, but I wish I hadn't slept on the Druid all these years. Specifically the Druid's Elemental skills tree. With Cyclone Armor, Twister, Tornado, and Hurricane maxed, this character can handle most of Hell with ease. I just need a merc for dual cold/physical immune monsters. With +skill gear equipped, my main skills were all at level 29. At that level, Cyclone Armor absorbs 1955 fire/cold/lightning damage, which makes this character super safe even in Hell. Tornado was doing over 3,000 damage (physical damage even though it's technically a spell), and Hurricane around 1,500 cold damage. Most things went down rather easily I lucked out big-time and found a Fal rune in Act IV Hell, which enabled me to make an 'Obedience' polearm for my merc. It has a 30% chance to cast level 21 Enchant upon killing a monster, so the merc chipped in with nice fire damage when my Tornado and Hurricane were ineffective. Towards the end of this play through, I got some pretty sweet item drops that would be perfect for an Amazon. The game is basically telling me to play a Javazon next

DB Super #78 - Another solid chapter. This arc has been constantly very good IMO. Dr. Stone #219 Ayashimon #2 — Not as good as the first chapter, but also not terrible. I’ll keep reading I don’t have any spoiler-y comments for PPPPPP but I am still enjoying it. Gotta wait another week for more Elusive Samurai

The second part of 86 has been pretty solid so far. It seems the studio is having production issues though. This week’s episode was delayed a week, and now the next episode looks like it will be delayed a week…

Man, in wish I had discovered the Wind Druid sooner. This build has been super fun to play. The synergies between the Druid‘s cold/wind elemental skills are fantastic. I’m nearly done Act III Hell and it’s actually been an easier time in Hell compared to my Sorc.

Only 4 episodes of Aquatope left Platinum End wasn’t very good this week. I watched it anyway, I dunno why

Only read the first chapter so far, but I think it’s safe to say that Sakamoto Days is a winner

Did you have a look at the new one on Jump this week? Ayashimon. I'm about to read it now so I'll report back with my thoughts later... edit: That was a pretty damn fun first chapter

Perhaps this is the week for me to start on Sakamoto Days... Two things on my reading list wrapped up rather suddenly this month, so I might as well start on something new! Yeah, major disappointment PPPPPP #9 Elusive Samurai #40

Dr. Stone #218 — wow a lot happened fast in this chapter. @ Ginro Neru #18 — well… that was disappointing

#56 — a good, fun chapter

My Sorc -- henceforth known as Matriarch fira -- finished Hell at level 81 I basically used nothing but Fire Ball starting from level 12 until when I hit Act IV NM, where fire immunes start appearing, and then I re-spec'd to use a hybrid of Frozen Orb, Fire Ball, and Meteor. Ended up with: - Max points in Frozen Orb, Fire Ball, and Meteor - 10 points in Cold Mastery and 8 points in Fire Mastery - 1 point in all prereqs, and 1 point in each of Frozen Armor, Static Field, Telekinesis, Teleport, and Warmth My modest end-game gear, all found along the way: Sword: 'Spirit' (TalThulOrtAmn) Battle Sword (+2 all skills and other nice bonuses) Shield: 'Spirit' Monarch (another +2 all skills, helpful resistances, other nice bonuses) Armor: 'Smoke' (NefLum) Scarab Husk (Big resistances!) Helm: 'Lore' (OrtSol) Hyrdraskull (+1 all skills and lightning resist) Gloves: Magefist Boots: Natalya's Soul (big boost to walk speed plus extra cold and lightning resist) Belt: random magic belt with fire resist Amulet: magic ammy with +2 to cold skills Rings: rare rings with resists and reduced poison length Also, I outfitted my merc (Act II NM) with an 'Insight' (RalTirTalSol) Grim Scythe, which grants a high level Meditation aura, part-way through Hell. That was a game-changer. Never ran out of mana again with his Meditation aura. I got pretty lucky turning up a Lum rune fairly early on in Hell, which enabled me to make the 'Smoke' rune word. The Monarch shield didn't turn up until I was in the WSK in Act V! It can be tough finding a Monarch to make a 'Spirit' shield. Hell Cows are done, so this character is retired. I can recycled some of the gear with another character later if needed. I might equip her with some budget Magic Find gear for funsies. Might turn up something decent running Hell Andy and Meph.

1??) Taiko??? no Tatsujin Rhythmic Adventure Pack #1? 2) Final ?Fa?nt?asy?? ???V 3) Chasm 4) Cosmic Star Heroine 5) Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker 6) Final Fantasy V (aga?in??)?? 7) Diablo II: Resurrected???? Honorable mention as I beat Hell difficulty today with my Sorc Hell Ancients were a headache, took a few tries, but after that it was pretty smooth sailing. Take that Baal Last thing to do tonight with the Sorc is Hell Cows.

Have any of you checked out Ousama Ranking / Ranking of Kings ? Been meaning to give it a look. It seems to have a pretty good score on MAL, for whatever that's worth. Sounds like it could be fun based on the synopsis...

Mephisto be dead The High Council was actually more of a handful than Meph. I made it as far as the River of Flame in Act IV Hell. Took me fooooorever to get through the Plains of Despair, one small step at a time. Sweet Jesus, I hate Burning Souls Lightning bolts just come flying across the screen before you can even see or target them. My poor merc bit the dust a few times from these out-of-nowhere attacks Clearing the City of the Damned was easy compared to the Plains of Despair. edit: Diablo is dead too

The Elusive Samurai #39

I am feeling no signs yet of getting bored of D2. I've played this game so much over the years. I know I'll get fatigued eventually and give it a break, but even I am surprised by how much I want to keep playing it. Haven't put it down since I downloaded D2R on my Switch.

Yeah this ending was pretty crummy Sucks for the author. Surely they didn't plan for it to end this quickly and in this way. It was so weird going from everybody passing the entrance exam to the whole thing end a few chapters later. I enjoyed this chapter. The dynamic between Neru and his mum reminds me a bit too much of my wife and 10 year-old daughter though... I am beginning to tire of the constant fight/make-up cycle

Sounds fun, I might check it out if/when I tire of Diablo 2 again...