Travincal runs: OK, I get it now

I never used to do Travincal runs, ignored it as a TZ, just generally thought "I dont want to deal with all those Hydra-spamming bastards packed into a little room any more".

Last Travincal TZ, I decided to run it anyway, and got my first ever Griffons Eye. Sure, my hireling kept dying to Hydra spam, but the javazon cares not, and mows down all in her path. No other noteworthy drops, but a +12/-19 Griffons is nothing to complain about. Anyway, I get why people run it now. Anyone else find a new respct for a TZ since the changes?

Kakumba wrote: 6 months ago

Anyway, I get why people run it now. Anyone else find a new respct for a TZ since the changes?

Welcome to the Council party!

Actually I wished TZ Travincal would last an entire hour still...

I really enjoy running it. Got runes ( Sur, Vex, Gul, Ist...), Highlord's Wrath, Rainbow Facet, and much more I can't remember...

Always /players7 (Single Player ofc).

tadkarcz wrote: 6 months ago

Kakumba wrote: 6 months ago

Anyway, I get why people run it now. Anyone else find a new respct for a TZ since the changes?

Welcome to the Council party!

Actually I wished TZ Travincal would last an entire hour still...

I really enjoy running it. Got runes ( Sur, Vex, Gul, Ist...), Highlord's Wrath, Rainbow Facet, and much more I can't remember...

Always /players7 (Single Player ofc).

can't u just change the clock on ur computer to make the TZ last as long as u like?

Trav is my favorite! I also miss 1 hour TZ Trav.

Try making a Hork Barb, it's amazing. You can get a second chance at drops from every enemy! Also, for merc survival (assuming act 2), my favorite setup is The Reaper's Toll, Guardian Angel, and Kira's Guardian. He rarely dies!

justinman114 wrote: 6 months ago

Trav is my favorite! I also miss 1 hour TZ Trav.

Try making a Hork Barb, it's amazing. You can get a second chance at drops from every enemy! Also, for merc survival (assuming act 2), my favorite setup is The Reaper's Toll, Guardian Angel, and Kira's Guardian. He rarely dies!

I just cant get into barbs, they are too slow. Doesnt help that melee in D2 kinda sucks, but at least paladins 'feel' faster. Barb (and I guess now warlock) are the only class I havent finished the game with

My merc carries an Infinity, the Conviction aura is useful. Otherwise he would carry an Insight. His only job is to be a walking aura so I can kill everything more efficiently

TimeSlayer wrote: 6 months ago

tadkarcz wrote: 6 months ago

Kakumba wrote: 6 months ago

Anyway, I get why people run it now. Anyone else find a new respct for a TZ since the changes?

Welcome to the Council party!

Actually I wished TZ Travincal would last an entire hour still...

I really enjoy running it. Got runes ( Sur, Vex, Gul, Ist...), Highlord's Wrath, Rainbow Facet, and much more I can't remember...

Always /players7 (Single Player ofc).

can't u just change the clock on ur computer to make the TZ last as long as u like?

Ah, the offline player. Online, the TZ is set by the server globally, you cant influence it locally

Kakumba wrote: 6 months ago

justinman114 wrote: 6 months ago

Trav is my favorite! I also miss 1 hour TZ Trav.

Try making a Hork Barb, it's amazing. You can get a second chance at drops from every enemy! Also, for merc survival (assuming act 2), my favorite setup is The Reaper's Toll, Guardian Angel, and Kira's Guardian. He rarely dies!

I just cant get into barbs, they are too slow. Doesnt help that melee in D2 kinda sucks, but at least paladins 'feel' faster. Barb (and I guess now warlock) are the only class I havent finished the game with

My merc carries an Infinity, the Conviction aura is useful. Otherwise he would carry an Insight. His only job is to be a walking aura so I can kill everything more efficiently

I hear ya, the Barb playthrough is usually rough. It really is a slog after nightmare with him unless you get lucky on gear. I will say though, "slow" is not a word I'd use to describe him in Trav. I use him only for Trav and he wrecks in 10 seconds or so, then horking takes another 10. I just use a basic WW barb but of course have a ton of nice gear for him, and Enigma to Teleport around. To be fair though, if he couldn't hork, I'd use someone else. It's just too nice to be able to get that nearly 500% MF horks after getting the original drops.

Kakumba wrote: 6 months ago

I never used to do Travincal runs, ignored it as a TZ, just generally thought "I dont want to deal with all those Hydra-spamming bastards packed into a little room any more".

Last Travincal TZ, I decided to run it anyway, and got my first ever Griffons Eye. Sure, my hireling kept dying to Hydra spam, but the javazon cares not, and mows down all in her path. No other noteworthy drops, but a +12/-19 Griffons is nothing to complain about. Anyway, I get why people run it now. Anyone else find a new respct for a TZ since the changes?

TZ Travincal is one of my favorite runs, although I tend to let my Javazon sit this one out in favor of my Strafezon, because she's more efficient and fast in Travincal.

Frenzy Barb with 1 point into Berserk+ Find Item and minimal cold damage is by far the best build for Trav IMO. Preferably with Manic Pixie Dreamgirl act 1 merc (try it with her and youll see why, lol).

Going abit more specific, the build I use (level 90 Frenzy Barb) is as follows:

Arreats w/ Cham rune

Rare rings with FCR & all res

+2 barb skills +10FCR caster amu w/ all res

Enigma (mostly for the MF)

Goldwrap Battle Belt

Laying of Hands

Gore Rider

Grief + Last Wish PB (MF & CTC lifetap are both great)

Double HoTo on swap for 110 FCR

MPD merc with Faith Hydra Bow ( Fanaticism Aura is great) and CoH

Best build for doing Trav runs in my experience in terms of loot and durability against the council.

Kakumba wrote: 6 months ago

I never used to do Travincal runs, ignored it as a TZ, just generally thought "I dont want to deal with all those Hydra-spamming bastards packed into a little room any more".

Last Travincal TZ, I decided to run it anyway, and got my first ever Griffons Eye. Sure, my hireling kept dying to Hydra spam, but the javazon cares not, and mows down all in her path. No other noteworthy drops, but a +12/-19 Griffons is nothing to complain about. Anyway, I get why people run it now. Anyone else find a new respct for a TZ since the changes?

Nice find!:)

Lifehacks for instant Travincal without dying:

For char:
The Rising Sun
And that's about it. The game is solved.

From now on enemy hydras will help you survive by healing you.
It helps if you're fire based caster. Then also: Flickering Flame and Phoenix (they're not obligatory but it goes suuuper fast).

Also maybe throw in Wisp Projector. Double duty item as it gives MF


For Infinity Merc:
Guardian Angel with a Vex.
Kira's Guardian is ok-ish but if you can afford go with Andariel's Visage or Vampire Gaze with Cham.
Some res on Head.
Anything from above beside Phoenix can be obtained for cheap if they're not perfect rolls.
The most important amulet among them has laughable price and yet it's one of the best QoL items in the game.

Kakumba wrote: 6 months ago

I never used to do Travincal runs, ignored it as a TZ, just generally thought "I dont want to deal with all those Hydra-spamming bastards packed into a little room any more".

Last Travincal TZ, I decided to run it anyway, and got my first ever Griffons Eye. Sure, my hireling kept dying to Hydra spam, but the javazon cares not, and mows down all in her path. No other noteworthy drops, but a +12/-19 Griffons is nothing to complain about. Anyway, I get why people run it now. Anyone else find a new respct for a TZ since the changes?

The whole D2 gaming ive always ran Travincal as it was a "good spot". There have been only two good drops in my 20 something of years with this game... Two times Ive found hr, that is it. So if you do the math, I dont want to, you can see how ppl claiming Travincal being a "good spot" is kind of conflicting with me. :'D

HaveANiceDay wrote: 6 months ago

For Infinity Merc:
Guardian Angel with a Vex.
Kira's Guardian is ok-ish but if you can afford go with Andariel's Visage or Vampire Gaze with Cham.

I dont really understand your Kira's Guardian swap. How will you ever get max fire resist without it? Andariel's Visage even actively gives -30% fire resist. You get life leech from the weapon so the dual leech helms seems superflous. I don't see how they will ever top maxxing out fire res, since the only think that kills your merc is being target-fired by 20 fire hydras.

theskov wrote: 6 months ago

HaveANiceDay wrote: 6 months ago

For Infinity Merc:
Guardian Angel with a Vex.
Kira's Guardian is ok-ish but if you can afford go with Andariel's Visage or Vampire Gaze with Cham.

I dont really understand your Kira's Guardian swap. How will you ever get max fire resist without it? Andariel's Visage even actively gives -30% fire resist. You get life leech from the weapon so the dual leech helms seems superflous. I don't see how they will ever top maxxing out fire res, since the only think that kills your merc is being target-fired by 20 fire hydras.

He's talking about an Infinity merc there so no life leech on the weapon. And with Guardian Angel also none on the armor. That just leaves the helmet as running a merc without any leech tends to be a recipe for inflated merc resurrection bills.

Personally, I would never bother with Guardian Angel to begin with.
Weapon of choice (depends on your build).
Fortitude.
Anti-freeze leech helmet (if not covered on your weapon of choice).

Done.

Sure, he CAN still die to hydras but really only if I just leave him sitting in them forever for no reason so that's entirely on me. And even then, it takes quite a while as a solid merc deals enough dmg to leech quite a bit.
If I'm running trav, there's only 2 options anyways:
1) I'm running an active build, helping him kill, in which case I can just stay somewhat close to him (or right on top if melee) and already accidentally tank enough Hydra dmg for him to not worry about anything.
2) I'm running a passive build (e.g. stacked horker), waiting for him to kill, in which case I can literally just sit right in the middle of the hydras and tank pretty much all of their damage for him as I have nothing better to do anyways. Or spend my time bunny-hopping around so none of the council folk ever spawn any hydras to begin with.
In either case, the merc is never in danger unless I'm falling asleep and he certainly vastly outperforms some res-stacked low-dmg build.

theskov wrote: 6 months ago

HaveANiceDay wrote: 6 months ago

For Infinity Merc:
Guardian Angel with a Vex.
Kira's Guardian is ok-ish but if you can afford go with Andariel's Visage or Vampire Gaze with Cham.

I dont really understand your Kira's Guardian swap. How will you ever get max fire resist without it? Andariel's Visage even actively gives -30% fire resist. You get life leech from the weapon so the dual leech helms seems superflous. I don't see how they will ever top maxxing out fire res, since the only think that kills your merc is being target-fired by 20 fire hydras.

You are correct about res. My mistake/laziness on the Helm part.
If the only job for Infinity merc is to stay in place and survive (as OP suggested) then Guardian Angel + Crown of Ages. Life leech possibly not needed if javazon does instant kill anyway.

That said, this is assuming Enigma/ Teleport, so no Merc fighting really.
Obv Forti is great

Made a quick video to show my horker. Volume is a bit low, apologies.

HaveANiceDay wrote: 6 months ago

Kakumba wrote: 6 months ago

I never used to do Travincal runs, ignored it as a TZ, just generally thought "I dont want to deal with all those Hydra-spamming bastards packed into a little room any more".

Last Travincal TZ, I decided to run it anyway, and got my first ever Griffons Eye. Sure, my hireling kept dying to Hydra spam, but the javazon cares not, and mows down all in her path. No other noteworthy drops, but a +12/-19 Griffons is nothing to complain about. Anyway, I get why people run it now. Anyone else find a new respct for a TZ since the changes?

Nice find!:)

Lifehacks for instant Travincal without dying:

For char:
The Rising Sun
And that's about it. The game is solved.

From now on enemy hydras will help you survive by healing you.
It helps if you're fire based caster. Then also: Flickering Flame and Phoenix (they're not obligatory but it goes suuuper fast).

Also maybe throw in Wisp Projector. Double duty item as it gives MF


For Infinity Merc:
Guardian Angel with a Vex.
Kira's Guardian is ok-ish but if you can afford go with Andariel's Visage or Vampire Gaze with Cham.
Some res on Head.
Anything from above beside Phoenix can be obtained for cheap if they're not perfect rolls.
The most important amulet among them has laughable price and yet it's one of the best QoL items in the game.

Dunno why anyone would pick a fire based caster for farming TZ Trav lol. It's like, yeah, you could do it, but I don't know why you would unless youre doing it just to show off your character geared to the Teeth.

You wouldn't pick a Frenzy Barb, Fury Druid, or pure Smiter to farm the cow level. Yeah sure, they might be able to do it, but its just gonna be a slog vs any Javazon, poison necro, etc.

BigD wrote: 6 months ago

HaveANiceDay wrote: 6 months ago

Kakumba wrote: 6 months ago

I never used to do Travincal runs, ignored it as a TZ, just generally thought "I dont want to deal with all those Hydra-spamming bastards packed into a little room any more".

Last Travincal TZ, I decided to run it anyway, and got my first ever Griffons Eye. Sure, my hireling kept dying to Hydra spam, but the javazon cares not, and mows down all in her path. No other noteworthy drops, but a +12/-19 Griffons is nothing to complain about. Anyway, I get why people run it now. Anyone else find a new respct for a TZ since the changes?

Nice find!:)

Lifehacks for instant Travincal without dying:

For char:
The Rising Sun
And that's about it. The game is solved.

From now on enemy hydras will help you survive by healing you.
It helps if you're fire based caster. Then also: Flickering Flame and Phoenix (they're not obligatory but it goes suuuper fast).

Also maybe throw in Wisp Projector. Double duty item as it gives MF


For Infinity Merc:
Guardian Angel with a Vex.
Kira's Guardian is ok-ish but if you can afford go with Andariel's Visage or Vampire Gaze with Cham.
Some res on Head.
Anything from above beside Phoenix can be obtained for cheap if they're not perfect rolls.
The most important amulet among them has laughable price and yet it's one of the best QoL items in the game.

Dunno why anyone would pick a fire based caster for farming TZ Trav lol. It's like, yeah, you could do it, but I don't know why you would unless youre doing it just to show off your character geared to the Teeth.

You wouldn't pick a Frenzy Barb, Fury Druid, or pure Smiter to farm the cow level. Yeah sure, they might be able to do it, but its just gonna be a slog vs any Javazon, poison necro, etc.

But you're replying like I was advocating it has to be fire caster for trav, when that part was just btw mention on main message of amulet being absolutely great vs location, and it has +to fire skills, so you can go along. That's it. And you don't need gg gear.

I think run trav with whatever char/gear you like. And never care for anybody saying you're doing a show off, lol:)