Diablo 2: Twinked Jab/Fend Spearazon - Part II - Nightmare mode

For general remarks on Nightmare, please refer to Part III of my Bowazon write-up.

42nd: Lava Gouts + War Traveler.

Damage/AR boost when 10th level Enchant procs, all else being equal:

Not that impressive... but we'll take it.

45th: Raven Frost rings. Not one, but two. Along with the mandatory Cannot be Frozen mod, it's their AR + Dex that's helpful. The only way to top such rings is to get a godly rares going. Probably just one because Cannot be Frozen is so vital to sanity, and is not found on other uniques that are attractive to the build. IOW, to outstrip RF we need a rare ring with +20 Strength, +20 Dex, Life Steal, Max Damage and resists. We have better chances of winning the lottery.

I rerolled 100 times at 6 pskulls per roll. While none of the resultant rings screamed "I'm godly", the potential is blatantly obvious. Which is why when you get a godly roll, it's happy days and you dance around your bedroom like a retard.  Examples:

Needs Dex and dual-leech.

Needs more Dex and dual-leech.

6 mods. But gaaawd. I don't want Energy and Mana... no one does.

6 mods. Needs more Dex and dual-leech.

Frickin' worthless Mana. Even Sorcs don't need it.

Now you can see why Raven Frosts are so great. They're infinitely easier to farm than rare rings are to roll. We need a strong argument not to equip two RFs, and we didn't get it here. Thus, I give up.

47th: Gore Riders (pic). It's always a toss-up between these and Wartravs (pic).

49th: Stone runeword in 15% ED, 14% Dura Dusk Shroud. We might as well take advantage of its D, FHR and resists for now, but at 59th we'll upgrade to Fortitude in wire fleece (pic), and at 63rd to Fortitude in Archon Plate (pic) (both borrowed from our Bowazon).

At the start of Act Two I kickstart the Rogue Sister merc with some basics; namely:

Stone in Dusk Shroud.

I misplaced the ethereal Dark Shroud found in the Pit. It was eth-bugged, too. No biggie. She upgrades to eth-bugged Boneweave once she gains the strength.

Vampire Gaze for its 15% DR.

Harmony in Rune Bow. This runeword is chosen for the excellent +run/walk conferred by its 10th level Vigor aura. The tedium of Act Two and Three are too much to bear without it.

50th: Cat's Eye (pic).

So here we can see the difference Fortitude makes to our damage:

Here we are wearing Stone at 63rd level:

And here we are wearing Fortitude at 63rd level, all else being equal:

Huge difference.

Now, +300% damage against demons on top of that from Laying of Hands (doesn't show in stats).

Now we add our max dmg charms. Their damage is multiplied from our ED sources (+300% from Fortitude, 195% from Hone Sundan, and +350% from the bramble mitts but only against demons.) Thus, a simple +10 max dmg jewel actually adds 60 to our max dmg, which is why we pack as many small/grand charms into our inventory as is sensible.

65th: At this point the merc receives Faith in a Great Bow for its 15th level Fantacism aura, which buffs our damage (pic). Here is the before and after damage comparison, all else being equal:

Without Faith:

With Faith:

At this point, and as per the Bowazon run, I also give the merc an ethereal Giant Skull bone visage (pic); its +strength allowing the fast-tracking of eth-bugged boneweave Stone (pic). This doubles her defense rating so she shouldn't die that much anymore.

We now bee-line for Baal. As you can see, no probs tanking Ventar:

No probs tanking the minions:

And no probs with Baal.

Yep, that's /players8. Our Spearazon was so confident that she didn't bother farming to 69th before taking on Baal. Why is 69th so special?

69th: This is a magic level because it opens up our elite, upped ethereal Hone Sundan and an ethereal Matriarchal Spear (+3 allskills) runeworded with the godly Breath of the Dying.

Upped ethereal Hone Sundan versus Breath of the Dying:

As to which epic wield is better, that's a question for Hell mode to answer. We rub our hands together as we get ready for Hell mode!

75th level Bowazon at the end of Nightmare (recap):

Next up: Hell mode.

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