10-06-2003, 01:40 AM
MALDAR: ACT V, BAAL
![[Image: Maldar5_baal1.jpg]](http://www.idiom.com/~gmonsen/diablo/Maldar5_baal1.jpg)
After refreshing potions, I entered the Worldstone Chamber, ran over to Baal, decrepified him, and bone prisoned him. Then, I pummeled him with bone spirits. The strategy was pretty simple. The bone prisons didn't do much, but they did protect me from Baal's ring of fire attack as you can see above.
![[Image: Maldar5_baal2.jpg]](http://www.idiom.com/~gmonsen/diablo/Maldar5_baal2.jpg)
The most annoying attack Baal had was his mana burn attack which would cause me to have to quaff mana potions. However, since he was decrepified, he didn't attack often, so it was only a minor annoyance.
Baal also cast his clone a couple of times in the fight, but I would just get on the other side of the real Baal and stay out of range of the clone. The clone doesn't teleport, so it wasn't a threat. I also bone prisoned the clone sometimes just to make sure it stayed put.
![[Image: Maldar5_baal3.jpg]](http://www.idiom.com/~gmonsen/diablo/Maldar5_baal3.jpg)
I caught a huge break when I noticed in the course of the battle that Baal and I were on opposite sides of a rock. The rock blocked Baal's mana burn attack, but I could shoot bone spirits around the rock and continue to decrepify Baal. I ended up emptying six super mana potions worth of bone spirits into him before I had to return to town to refresh my potions.
![[Image: Maldar5_baal4.jpg]](http://www.idiom.com/~gmonsen/diablo/Maldar5_baal4.jpg)
After that pummeling, Baal only had a small amount of life left, and Baal was taken down quickly once I returned from town.
For the first time, Maldar got something halfway useful from a monster drop. The only unique item was an Atma's Wail which was OK, but the most interesting item was a rare maul with the following stats:
+20% Increased attack speed
+240% Enhanced damage
+117 To attack rating
+21 Poison damage over 4 seconds
Repairs 1 durability in 33 seconds
+50% Damage to Undead
That brings up what I think is really cool about the cube upgrade recipes. Normally, one would see Baal dropping a rare maul and say, "What a piece of junk!" But now you could upgrade this thing twice to an ogre maul, socket it with a Larzuk quest reward, and have a pretty darned nice weapon.
The echoes of Baal's dying scream had barely died away when Tyrael floated down through the ceiling of the Worldstone Chamber and landed in front of Maldar. Tyrael congratulated Maldar on his tremendous achievement of banishing all three Prime Evils from the mortal realm. However, he also gave Maldar the regretful news that Baal had managed to corrupt the Worldstone. If the Worldstone was not destroyed, eventually the barrier between hell and the mortal realm would collapse. Tyrael said that even he couldn't predict what would result from the Worldstone's destruction, but he knew that it had to be done.
Maldar looked suspiciously at Tyrael. "Oh, ho!" Maldar thought. "So this is what you've been up to, Tyrael. You wanted to destroy the Worldstone while keeping your reputation as the benefactor of the mortal realm. You are clever, but you are also playing a dangerous game. You have won this round, Tyrael, and have successfully used me as your pawn, but know that I will be watching you closely, and if you threaten innocent beings, you will have Maldar the Magnificent to contend with!"
Maldar returned to town and told the townspeople of Harrogoth what Tyrael had said. He was heartened to learn that he was not the only one suspicious of Tyrael's actions. Anya thought it was strange that her people's prophecies had never mentioned anything about the Worldstone being destroyed.
But there were more immediate issues to deal with for there was still the matter of what do with the tens of thousands of demons that had infested the lands of the free peoples. Upon the deaths of the three Prime Evils, demons had begun to slink away into the darkness, but many people, the barbarians chief among them, wanted to hunt them down and exact revenge for the destruction they had wrought.
Maldar summoned the Council and reminded them of their promise not to not allow any innocent demons to come to harm. Representatives for various demon species were called in, and talks were held to divide Sanctuary between the demons and the free peoples. Maldar acted as the official arbiter. For the most part, the negotiations were surprisingly easy, since the lands that each side preferred were largely different. The free peoples got most of the arable grassland and plains along with the coastlines near good harbors. The demons, on the other hand, got most of the jungles, swamps, dark forests, deep desert areas, and dank caves. The biggest bone of contention revolved around city sewers, but Maldar worked out a carefully worded compromise that gave the sewers to the demons to live in but allowed city workers to safely enter them at regular intervals to make improvements and perform routine maintenance.
When the treaty was signed, celebrations were held all over Sanctuary both in the cities of the free peoples and in demon lairs. Esmerelda, the head of the sorceress order, was quoted as saying, "Many may fear living so close to demons, but the fact is that they are an integral part of our lives. Demons provide drama and excitement to our children's fairy tales. Without them, what would our children's stories be populated by? Purple dinosaurs and sponges?"
Peace and tranquility settled on most of Sanctuary, but a group of demon cows refused to give up their choice grassland and would not go away quietly. People who did not like the treaty used the demon cows as examples of "typical demon intransigence." The situation had the potential to derail the entire treaty, and the Council and Maldar discussed what should be done. Many members of the Council felt that the only solution was to kill all of the cows as a warning to demons not to violate the terms of the treaty.
But Maldar intervened and said that the real problem lay with the Cow King who kept his followers riled up. If he alone were killed, the rest of the cows would likely go away quietly. That would demonstrate to other demons the seriousness with which the free peoples took the treaty while also demonstrating to other demons that the free peoples are willing to show reasonable restraint.
After much discussion, the Council finally agreed to give Maldar the opportunity to try things his way, but it warned Maldar that the Council would eradicate the cows if he failed.
Maldar left the Council meeting, shouldered his equipment, and began the journey to the Moo-Moo Farm. Would Maldar be able to defeat the Cow King without harming any of the Cow King's minions?
After refreshing potions, I entered the Worldstone Chamber, ran over to Baal, decrepified him, and bone prisoned him. Then, I pummeled him with bone spirits. The strategy was pretty simple. The bone prisons didn't do much, but they did protect me from Baal's ring of fire attack as you can see above.
The most annoying attack Baal had was his mana burn attack which would cause me to have to quaff mana potions. However, since he was decrepified, he didn't attack often, so it was only a minor annoyance.
Baal also cast his clone a couple of times in the fight, but I would just get on the other side of the real Baal and stay out of range of the clone. The clone doesn't teleport, so it wasn't a threat. I also bone prisoned the clone sometimes just to make sure it stayed put.
I caught a huge break when I noticed in the course of the battle that Baal and I were on opposite sides of a rock. The rock blocked Baal's mana burn attack, but I could shoot bone spirits around the rock and continue to decrepify Baal. I ended up emptying six super mana potions worth of bone spirits into him before I had to return to town to refresh my potions.
After that pummeling, Baal only had a small amount of life left, and Baal was taken down quickly once I returned from town.
For the first time, Maldar got something halfway useful from a monster drop. The only unique item was an Atma's Wail which was OK, but the most interesting item was a rare maul with the following stats:
+20% Increased attack speed
+240% Enhanced damage
+117 To attack rating
+21 Poison damage over 4 seconds
Repairs 1 durability in 33 seconds
+50% Damage to Undead
That brings up what I think is really cool about the cube upgrade recipes. Normally, one would see Baal dropping a rare maul and say, "What a piece of junk!" But now you could upgrade this thing twice to an ogre maul, socket it with a Larzuk quest reward, and have a pretty darned nice weapon.
The echoes of Baal's dying scream had barely died away when Tyrael floated down through the ceiling of the Worldstone Chamber and landed in front of Maldar. Tyrael congratulated Maldar on his tremendous achievement of banishing all three Prime Evils from the mortal realm. However, he also gave Maldar the regretful news that Baal had managed to corrupt the Worldstone. If the Worldstone was not destroyed, eventually the barrier between hell and the mortal realm would collapse. Tyrael said that even he couldn't predict what would result from the Worldstone's destruction, but he knew that it had to be done.
Maldar looked suspiciously at Tyrael. "Oh, ho!" Maldar thought. "So this is what you've been up to, Tyrael. You wanted to destroy the Worldstone while keeping your reputation as the benefactor of the mortal realm. You are clever, but you are also playing a dangerous game. You have won this round, Tyrael, and have successfully used me as your pawn, but know that I will be watching you closely, and if you threaten innocent beings, you will have Maldar the Magnificent to contend with!"
Maldar returned to town and told the townspeople of Harrogoth what Tyrael had said. He was heartened to learn that he was not the only one suspicious of Tyrael's actions. Anya thought it was strange that her people's prophecies had never mentioned anything about the Worldstone being destroyed.
But there were more immediate issues to deal with for there was still the matter of what do with the tens of thousands of demons that had infested the lands of the free peoples. Upon the deaths of the three Prime Evils, demons had begun to slink away into the darkness, but many people, the barbarians chief among them, wanted to hunt them down and exact revenge for the destruction they had wrought.
Maldar summoned the Council and reminded them of their promise not to not allow any innocent demons to come to harm. Representatives for various demon species were called in, and talks were held to divide Sanctuary between the demons and the free peoples. Maldar acted as the official arbiter. For the most part, the negotiations were surprisingly easy, since the lands that each side preferred were largely different. The free peoples got most of the arable grassland and plains along with the coastlines near good harbors. The demons, on the other hand, got most of the jungles, swamps, dark forests, deep desert areas, and dank caves. The biggest bone of contention revolved around city sewers, but Maldar worked out a carefully worded compromise that gave the sewers to the demons to live in but allowed city workers to safely enter them at regular intervals to make improvements and perform routine maintenance.
When the treaty was signed, celebrations were held all over Sanctuary both in the cities of the free peoples and in demon lairs. Esmerelda, the head of the sorceress order, was quoted as saying, "Many may fear living so close to demons, but the fact is that they are an integral part of our lives. Demons provide drama and excitement to our children's fairy tales. Without them, what would our children's stories be populated by? Purple dinosaurs and sponges?"
Peace and tranquility settled on most of Sanctuary, but a group of demon cows refused to give up their choice grassland and would not go away quietly. People who did not like the treaty used the demon cows as examples of "typical demon intransigence." The situation had the potential to derail the entire treaty, and the Council and Maldar discussed what should be done. Many members of the Council felt that the only solution was to kill all of the cows as a warning to demons not to violate the terms of the treaty.
But Maldar intervened and said that the real problem lay with the Cow King who kept his followers riled up. If he alone were killed, the rest of the cows would likely go away quietly. That would demonstrate to other demons the seriousness with which the free peoples took the treaty while also demonstrating to other demons that the free peoples are willing to show reasonable restraint.
After much discussion, the Council finally agreed to give Maldar the opportunity to try things his way, but it warned Maldar that the Council would eradicate the cows if he failed.
Maldar left the Council meeting, shouldered his equipment, and began the journey to the Moo-Moo Farm. Would Maldar be able to defeat the Cow King without harming any of the Cow King's minions?