HC SSF Classless, No Looting, No Farming

Wyatan · January 28, 2021, 6:28pm

The game has a secret challenge Playtesters' plea for help - Zantai's Last Secret) where you need to reach level 100 in hardcore mode without picking a class, and
then talk to an NPC in act 7.

If memory serves, it was first beaten by Adoomgod who went about it the “easy” way by transfering items from other characters. Then, Contragor documented his successful Solo Self-Found run (that was before Totems, so finding blueprints took some work).
More recently, Malagant had a go at it, with an intermediate approach (he tried it with his second character, so had already found blueprints, mandates, some gear). I haven’t finished watching his series, but judging from the number of videos left, I believe he made it.

I had long felt the urge to give it a try, so when I was over at my folks’ for Christmas, having forgotten to
transfer over my save, I went for it… but with a twist.

The rules:
- Fresh accound start (no blueprints, empty shared stash)
- Hardcore, classless (duh)
- No farming
- No looting
- No bounties

“No farming”:
A “no-repeat” rule (can’t visit the same area more than once), but with exceptions tolerated solely for quest purposes. For instance, the first three levels of the Steps of Torments were visited twice in Normal mode : first for the Zarthuzellan quest, then later for the Rogue Dungeon while on the Outcast quests line.

“No looting”:
Simple: every box in the loot filter is unticked, except for components.
I actually debated that last one, since you can buy crystals in Act 6, rare materials in Morgoneth’s dungeon, and most standard components, as well as Scrap, in every shop.
But I suspected that some rare, uncraftable components, would not be available (I know that Ancient Armor Plate can be bought, but is that the case for all of them?) and I was sure that Chtonic Seals, as well as Ugdenblooms (apart from the odd drop from a Treasure Trove), would be off-limits.
So in the end I renounced the “100% Iron” approach, and ticked that Components box.
Anyway, the idea here was that every item I used would have to be bought, crafted, of come from the odd quest reward.
Combined with the previous rule, it meant I had to make do with a limited budget.
I was a bit undecided about what to do with crafting recipes requiring non-shoppable MIs: bite the bullet and accept that those crafts would be unavailable, or allow looting those MI solely for crafting purposes (ie, no equipping them)? In the end, that’s a decision I was able to leave pending.

“No Bounties”:
Not a very impactful rule (a bit less available Iron and Reputation), just to spare me the frustration of not
having the proper bounties available at the right time.

Now, I used “SSF” in the title, but you’ll notice it’s not included in my ruleset. The idea was NOT indeed to
restart fresh with each unsuccessful attempt, but on the contrary to build up until I was in a position to
succeed. So recipes would be kept, mandates bought and stashed whenever I reached “Revered” status with a faction, excess Iron turned into Iron Bars, etc…
I fully expected I would need quite a few attempts.

As for my target build… I had two vague plans, based on the notion that Physical and Chaos damage are the least resisted to.

The first idea was to use Beronath Reforged (the blueprint can be bought from Vinelton) and thus convert an elemental attack (Conflagration, Chain Lightning, Stormfire).
It only dawned upon me later on that my rules made that idea extremely impracticable.
First, the Cunning requirement on the sword meant I’d have to either use a shield (no good shield available) or use Great Pants (very unlikely to ever get hold of a pair) or lock an uncomfortable number of item affixes on stats increases.
And second, while there are great offhands for such a build… most would be off-limits per my rules:
Zarthuzellan’s MI can’t be looted, Codex of Reckoning and Sacred Texts of Menhir unavailable (maybe as an unlikely quest reward ?), Tome of Names and Tome of Arcane Destruction basically only available as a random craft… which my limited ressources would only allow very few attempts at.

The second idea was more promising: use the Absolution relic, and convert the Vitality damage to Chaos with a Bloodsworn Scepter (sold by Benevald) and Bysmiel Tainted Effigy (faction item).
Trouble there is I would need the relic blueprint to drop in the first place, and crafting it requires a
Kilrian Shattered Soul component, which would need to drop as well.

So the plan for the first attempt(s) was utterly lacking in originality: go for fire damage with Greater
Fireblast, upgrading to Conflagration at some point.
Conflagration is indeed guaranteed (blueprint sold by Hyram in Steelcap District), and Hyram also sells two MIs which complement the build nicely: Ascendant Conduit (scepter) and Fleshwarped Codex (offhand).
And once I had gathered the required blueprints/items, the following (and hopefully last) attempt would be
made with a better build.

Now, this would be also be a full-clear attempt, since every skip meant less ressources to play with. So I
knew I was in for a long run. 40-50 hours per difficulty was the figure I remembered from the time I played
that way. Not having to deal with inventory tetris and going through tons of loot would save time, but between a slower clearing speed and shopping sessions, I could expect it to stay in that ballpark.

Normal mode should have been renamed “easy mode”. I tend to play in “seasons” (play for a few months, stop, then resume after wiping all my saves). This “season”, which started in October, was the very first time I ever tried “Normal” instead of Veteran because I wanted to try out some very weak concepts.
And I was amazed at the difference between the two modes.
Can you actually die in Normal ?
Mobs just fall over if you stare at them too hard, and commit sepuku in shame if they ever manage to scratch you.
Well, a classless character might just be the way to get a challenge out of that mode ?

… or not.

In order to maximize reputation gains, my progression for a first character when full-clearing is usually
along these lines :

Kill Loghorrean and make my way to Barrowholm
East Marsh : Coven reputation, plus a bit of Barrowholm rep with the new Chtonian side area, Hidden Path quest, Outcast quest line (+ Order of Death last quest, but I went Kymon this time)
Steps of Torment : Outcast quest line + get Honored with Rovers
with the Rhowari Legacy quest unlocked, clear the Chtnonian Rifts (Outcast + Kymon + Barrowholm reputation) and finish that quest and the Kymon quest line.
Bastion of Chaos
Lost Armaments + Valbury

Then I resume act 5, move on to act 6 (where I rush to lower the bridge so I can start gaining rep with the
Resistance and then retrace my steps to clear the previous areas), and do act 7 after killing Theoden.
I leave the Ancient Grove for later as it scales higher, and clear Elite Act 1 before finishing act 7 to max
out my Devotion Points.

I followed that game plan here as well, and things actually went smoothly enough.
I was using Greater Fireblast, and mainly faction gear (Homestead / Devil’s Crossing).

I skipped the Sunken Reliquary in Act 1 (bad dynamite luck, and I figured that what I’d get in there would
barely make up for the 3 dynamites I’d have to craft - plus, by that point, I had outlevelled the place) and
Hargate’s Laboratory (not enough rep).
I fought Mad Queen to a draw : she’s actually just a DPS check… which this weak character couldn’t pass
(duh). Got her down to 80K from 240K, then she fully healed and I called it quits.
The Log fight was a long-drawn affair, reminiscent of my ealy newbie days.

I got lucky and obtained the Conflagration relic recipe as a quest reward for one of the Kymon quests. I
crafted it… and stashed it away.
Big mistake you think ?
You’d be correct.
But you see, I thought this first character wouldn’t get very far, and I wanted to save stuff for the next one: if I spent everything on this one and it died, no progress would have been made.
So I soldiered on, still using Greater Blast only.

I had to skip Sharzul : with his fire immunity, I was barely scratching him, while he dealt significant damage. I reckoned I was likely to mess up at some point in the longh protracted fight that would ensue, so I left. Missed out on a blueprint.

In act 6, I cleared everything but had to park Gabal’Thunn in the Cinder Wastes : another DPS check I
couldn’t pass.

And finally, belatedly, at level 66 (or was that 67?), I reckoned this character wasn’t immediately doomed
and that I should make use of that Conflagration relic. :smoke:

I also committed my ressources to a full gear upgrade (thinking I would recoup that in Elite).
Elite Coven Flameweaver Casque + Coven Arcane Vestments for the helm and armor.
I crafted a Decorated Pauldron for the shoulders.
For the legs, I equipped the Runeplates of Ignaffar that Creed had so nicely provided me with.
I crafted a Vortex Stone for the amulet spot, and a new Ranger’s Badge for the medal spot.
For the belt… I think that’s when I crafted a Wraithbone Sash, but that might have come a bit later.
The weapon and offhand I would upgrade later, when I got Revered with Homestead.
Same for the gloves : I was using the Rhowari Handguards (BiS, really : all damage, cast speed, strength + spirit, resists), I would upgrade to the elite version when available.
Last were the rings : BiS with my rules would be a pair of Living Rings for Vinelton. I waited until I was level 70 before heading for the Ancient Grove : I wanted to buy the level 70 versions, not the level 55 ones.

And you know what ?
After I had spent all my ressources and committed to that build… the very next Totem I cleared dropped the Absolution blueprint. :mad:
That said, Kilrian never dropped his component (neither in normal nor Elite), so there’s that. But still.
Seriously?

The Ancient grove went smootly, and I must say I was quite happy with my new rings (that took the better half of an afternoon to shop for).
After sticking with Greater Fireblast for so long, I felt almost overpowered using Conflagration.

Then Gargabol came and I thought why not. I wanted the blueprint, and the Legendary for the quest reward. I had checked his fire resistance : 50%, no worry there.
His first form went down alright, then…
… I could barely damage his second form ! :yikes:
3-figure damage hits, only when Eldritch Fire was applied, and he had 300K+ health! Oh boy…
So, yeah, I had forgotten to also check out his second form’s fire resistance. But that’s “only” 73%, so he
must also have drawn some fire-resistance affix on his gear ?

I could -should- have escaped at that point, but I really wanted those rewards.
The fight was epic by its duration (over 30 minutes). As for the rest, it consisted mainly of shooting when I
could, and RUN, RUN, RUN the rest of the time!
But down he went. At last.

The blueprint was useless, the Legendary item Mogdrogen gave me was… a useless epic.
I guess the true reward was the fight itself ?

I finished act 7 after that, including Morgoneth dungeon.
Korvaak and Morgoneth I worried a bit about beforehand (I must be doing something wrong since everyone seems to fear Kymon I’ve never had any problem with, while dismissing Korvaak as super-duper easy… and he always has me running like a little girl).
But this was normal mode, and they’re not fire-immune…

Acts 2 to 4 in Elite were easy.
I entered the Steps of Torments when I got there before realizing I should have waited until I met the Outcast. Well, there went that questline, oopsie. (To be honest, I almost always skip that questline since
the rewards never make up for the entry cost).

I skipped Aldric/Rekt, Mad Queen, and Sharzul, but cleared all the rest except for Valbury: I was planning on buying MI shoulders there, so I needed to wait until level 94 to get there.

The fight versus Loghorrean was once again a tedious affair (damn Tyrants !) and Creed was once again a real pal : Mythical Mark of Calamitous Desires!
If not BiS, then very close. I had planned on buying a Kymon medal from Benevald, or crafting a Nimble/Watcher crest if the blueprints dropped, but that was a slot catered for.
So post-Log Creed gave me a great item twice.
All the other quest rewards (post-Theoden Creed, post-Korvaak Emissary, Riggs, Matron Malostria, etc…) were useless, though.

Act 5 started off smoothly, although I had a new worry : Nemesis with beasts!
I also discovered that Mossflingers and their ilk are actually surprisingly fire-resistant (c’mon, they’re trees !).

My plan had been to get to Act 6, get Revered with the Resistance to unlock XP potions I could use in Act 1 Ultimate. Upgrade my gear a final time once I got to level 94, before tackling the harder challenges.

But while making my way to Sylvarria, I stopped short.
Progress until then had been - relatively - easy because, although squishy (9K health, no armor rating worth mentionning), I could outmaneuver my opponents : Phoenix Rise to escape and trigger an Elemental Storm, shoot and apply Eldritch fire, cleanse, rinse, repeat.
But Sylvarria’s room is soooo tiny. You just have to tank, there, since moving gets you whacked by those damn roots. And the golems she summons hit hard and are fire resistant.
Dare I risk that fight ?
And looking ahead… Ekket’Zul : nearly fire-immune, hits like a truck.
No way I could pass that. Not without an equipment upgrade.
But if I upgraded now, then I wouldn’t have ressources left for my final upgrade.

I needed to get to level 94 first before I could make further headway into that act. But that meant getting
there without the benefit of XP potions…

I headed for Act 7, but Ramzul was also a no go.
I had picked Solael as a faction because they were the faction I had the least reputation with, and the Elite
Solael Black Flame Vestments could be an alternative to the bugged Elite Coven Arcane Vestments (erroneously missing Burn/Electrocute damage).
But with that quest undone, I was stuck at Vanguard of the Three, still far short of level 94 (I don’t
remember exactly, but I believe it was something like 87 ? 88 ?).

So I had to choice but to head prematurely for Ultimate.

And it wasn’t too bad, actually.
I had to resort to hit in melee the Burwitch Rift Rotting Emberguards to apply Viper in addition to Elemental
Storm and Eldritch Fire, but I could clear the act up to the last waypoint, including the Ancient Aetherwarped Totem ! (Told you : as long as I had room to maneuver, I was OK).

Krieg was a no-go, though.
… and I was still short of level 94!

So I headed to Act 2…
… all the way to Cronley.
And with Cronley down, I reached level 94 at last!

I immediately bought/crafted my final gear pieces.
I still needed : shoulders (MI from Valbury), rings (upgraded Living Rings) from the Ancient Grove, an amulet (more on that later), final augments (from the Forgotten Realms factions and Malmouth Resistance).

I headed to Elite Valbury first.
Issue was : I had waited too long. The area is capped at level 80, so I got no XP, no crystals.
I did fight Valdaran there, but with my extremely overcapped Lightning resistance, he was no threat.
Still, one Nemesis down with a classless character!
I shopped for my shoulder piece, cleared the rest of the dungeon, and made my way to the Ancient Grove (I did go and kill Sylvarria before that, and completed the Elite Coven quest line first, hoping for a good
reward… not to be).
In the Ancient Grove, I fought my second Nemesis. Now Kuba wasn’t the pushover that Valdaran had been, but with my new gear, I pulled through.
I shopped for my rings (pro tip : plan your shopping sessions to coincide with house chores), and cleared the place… except for Gargabol.
I might be crazy, but not quite that crazy.

Next were Ekket’Zult and Act 6 (at last !).
Grava’Thul ambushed me in the Fringes of Sanity. A lot of running around the small chasm there ensued, but down he went.
Three Nemeses !!

I cleared the act, and finally got to Revered with Malmouth Resistance, too late for the XP potions to really
matter, though, so I saved Iron by not using them.

Then I was back to Act 7.
I quickly realized I’d made a pretty major mistake : at nearly 250K iron, I had skipped on buying the faction
writs there. Too expensive, and I wouldn’t need them, would I.
Turned out I did need them, and since I bought them so late, I also would need to kill Korvaak to reach Revered status with all factions. Yikes.

Now, let’s speak of my plan for the amulet slot. I wanted… a Conduit.
Any Conduit, really : the skills bonuses and modifiers were useles to me, obviously.
By defensively, it’s a great amulet (the +max resist is equivalent to 20% damage reduction for instance), and the blueprint is sold in the Tomb of the Heretic in Elite, so that’s a guaranteed find.

I headed for Ramzul first. With overcapped lightning resistance, and in spite of my unmaxed Stun resistance, I managed to stay away from him and his meteors, and thus out of harm’s way.

I then made my way to the Korvan City waypoint, and straight into the Tomb of the Heretic for my Conduit.
I skipped the Magi there, and dared not fight Morgoneth. But I got my amulet.

Last was Korvaak… I potioned up for it, but that proved unwarranted.
Did it take playing a weak build for me to “get” that fight ?

I upgraded my augments, bought one XP potion, and I was at last ready for Ultimate Krieg and the last leg of the journey.

On the way to Krieg… a skull on the map.
An Ultimate Nemesis? Should I…
I went for it. And it was easy. Not fast, mind you, but really, not a problem. Amazing.

As for Krieg himself… his most dangerous attack is his crossbow. I had 17K health, which, with a standard build, would be well into safe territory for Krieg.
But I had negligible physical resistance, and with my low DA, getting shotgunned and crit’d at the same time could mean a one-shot death.
The usual way of avoiding that attack is simply to tank Krieg : he only uses it at range. But with unmaxed
Stun resistance, I wasn’t sure I could tank him. And disengaging in a panick is one sure way of getting
shotgunned.
So I decided to fight him the newbie way: long-range. I would almost assuredly get hit by a few bolts, but
not the full volley.

Well, it nearly proved to be a disastrous decision : I went down to 30% health at one point. But I prevailed
in the end.
I turned it the quest and the Act 2 quests, and reached level 99.

With the XP potion still active, and a few easy quests to pick up in the early act 7, level 100 was reached
when I revealed the Maw’s location to Carmac.
All that was left was running through to Vanguard of the Three (no need to complete the early faction quests, by the way), talk to Indalla, and…

… CHALLENGE MET.

Wow.

I took over 120 hours, but those were fun hours (except for the shopping sessions).

Final build:
https://www.grimtools.com/calc/DV9jRbvZ

(note : I had significantly more Physique in-game. A combination of crafting bonuses and upper rolls?)

As a final observation, what surprised me is that, apart from the case of fire-immune bosses, my power level felt… right.
Now, that’s a subjective point, and I bet most of the community on these forums would disagree.
After all, the “right” power level means that mobs get obliterated before the brain has the time to register
their presence, and a tough fight vs a superboss takes an agonizingly long 3 seconds. With any build needing 4 seconds being deemed “unplayable”, and any build needing 2.8 seconds being “grossly overpowered”.

Here, isolated or low-end mobs went down fast, but I had to actually fight in many situations, isolating
healers and “buffers”, stringing tougher monsters, etc.
Hero and boss fights took some work, without feeling “grindy” (well, except for Log and Gargabol).

In a word, the balance felt right.
And I can’t help but think that the obsession with “high-end” content (Crucible, SR, Celestials) has actually
greatly harmed the game.