Diablo 2: Epic Bowazon Part II - /players8 Hell mode Max Spawns Extreme: Chaosing

Maxing the MonDen variable results in 1,700 kills per Chaos run. Pit runs are in excess of 2,300. And Chaos runs are currently taking me twice as long (20 mins) because the enemies are as tough as nails. There are also fewer super uniques and thus fewer good drops. In regard to experience point gain, Chaos does of course top the Pit, but not by much en route to 94th level. In fact, it's negligible. And when I factor in the increased possibility of being slain (thereby losing a sizeable chunk of XP), the Pit is more attractive. Chaos is heaps more dangerous: not only did my merc die twice, but my maxValk had to be resummoned twice (in addition to repositioning resummons).

Bow-wise, Faith matriarchal doesn't seem to cut it: it's a choice between my Shael'd Windforce hydra (pic) and Brand matriarchal (pic). BotD? Forgotten.

Killcount at Chaos end:

[For comparison: Pit killcount]
(Flayer Jungle runs can yield 3,000 kills in 6-7 mins, but the drops are crap.)

Reduction in XP progress from Pit to Chaos? Yep, I died while experimenting in Act Five. It happens, and it hurts. I couldn't get back to collect my body under max MonDen. Don't conduct experiments or otherwise muck around unless you have just gained a level. Also, be very careful when changing your gear. If you're used to gear a, but then change to gear b, then you might get killed because you have formed particular habits with gear a that don't work with gear b.

Anyway, back to the Chaosing:

See how they're packed in?

Juicy stuff.

This may give a better indication of the max spawn number (the aftermath of the Grand Vizier phase):

Yep. Those are corpses and ash piles representing slain foes. The pace of max MonDen Chaos runs is frenetic and unrelenting due to Pierce constantly drawing more mobs into the fray. Epic, but pretty exhausting. If someone can do 10 runs in a row then they have more stamina than I do...

Mega Infector of Souls Venom Lord mob:

Focus on the map overlay. See those blue dots near the Bowazon? They're her arrows. Note the spread, the range, and the penetration of Pierce.

Highly impressive. This is definitely the best build I've put together outside of battle.net vlld. My Frenzier and Fender wouldn't last 2 secs under these conditions. 

Infector of Souls is the last one standing: owned by Magic Arrow/Bone Spear:

Point-blank plinking of Diablo with Brand. That's my Bone Spear firing upwards and Diablo's red lightning hose firing downwards.

Currently, there are a couple of itemization roadblocks getting in the way of improving the build. The first prime item needed is a godly rare ring that outstrips Raven Frost (dual leech, Max dmg, +20 Dex, resists, etc.) Godly rare headgear and gloves would be an improvement, too - though that's really a longshot. The second is that I need better Max damage charms (+2-3 small and +6-10 grand are not optimal). However, I'm not looking forward to the manual labor of rerolling for these items. The reason why Min/Max/x-x dmg charms/jewels are so valuable - more valuable than even bow-skiller charms unless they also have dmg as a secondary mod - is that their dmg is multiplied by %ED sources.

Conclusion: We are Chaos-proof but not Chaos-optimal. I will probably keep farming and experimenting until I get bored. A few more levels will add to Dex and Windforce damage, too.

Let's keep going, though... [Diablo 2 Pit Running]

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