Merrick, The Dark Angel - Venommancer
26 January 2014 at 12:50pm
Here is the second character that I took through HoF:
Name: Merrick, The Dark Angel
Path: Rogue
Career: Venommancer (Snake Strike/Toxicology)
Stats: sp15; br22; ma0; ar1; Health 49
Head: Gore Mask 2sp; 3br (Mangle)
Cloak: Patchwork Pulp 2sp; 2br; (Slick/Savagery)
Gloves: Leather Long Arms 1sp; 3br; (Sure Grip/Charm x2/Heal)
Chest: Snake Skin Coat 2sp; 2br; (Deceive)
Feet: Death Blades 2sp; 3br; (Fatal Blow)
Main hand: Ravenos Bringer of Ruin - Sword 2sp; 5br; (Deep Wound/Sear)
Left hand: Lesser Bushmaster - Snake 2sp;3br; (Constrictor)
Talisman: Kaala's Scale 1sp; (Venommancer Career)
Necklace: Hanumman's Hair 1sp; 2hl; (Monkey Mob)
Ring: Abyssal Firestone 1ar;2hl; (Fire Aura)
Ring: Crucifixion Nail 1br; (Sweet Spot)
Other Abilities: Prophecy/Demon Spines/Demon Claws/Demon Blood/Spectral Porter
Notes: Not my best build or favourite character - I was constantly being frustrated in Acts 2 and 3 as I didn't seem to be able to find any decent rings, chest gear or head gear to replace what I had (finally found the Gore Mask to replace the Garland of Sacrifice (useless 'Atonement' ability!) that I'd been wearing since Act 1). The most frustrating thing of all was fighting Krakatoa and being disappointed by the Rogue rewards available (bearing in mind that I had all the gear shown above except for the 'Gore Mask' and looking at the Rogue rewards for Krakatoa, you can probably feel my frustration!). Also, I started out as a Pilgrim and switched to Venommancer when the opportunity arose but after that I never came across any other opportunity to switch career! So I remained as a Venommancer right to the end.
You can probably tell that I stacked up my gloves with runes. I love the 'Sure Grip' ability and intended to never give those gloves up so I piled all my runes onto that item (thanks to Marilyn Manson for pointing out it was too many - moved one to my cloak). This further limited my gear choices after encounters unfortunately!
On the plus side, I cruised through HoF with this character. He could dish out a lot of damage quickly and he rarely got hit. But I somehow felt that he lacked some cohesion - maybe it was the seemingly constant stream of battles where there were no appropriate rewards to pick up (a lot of Rogue only options were left hand weapons - and as a Venommancer I couldn't give up my snake! Plus, I wasn't willing to part with my gloves). Anyway, maybe another run through with a different Rogue would yield different results.
So - just a Mage to go in HoF now! And just a Warrior to go in LoS. At this point, my Necro is still my favourite character. 
