Keep Update 08/12/2005

[Myhrginoc]

It's durn near the middle of August, and where has this year gone so fast? If this is the Dog Days of Summer, we must have greyhounds on hand. There is no moss growing at the Keep!

We Have Another Winnah!
Seven people participated in our Runeword Contest. Our leading entry features two variants depending on what you use as a base item. Let's give a big hand to the winner,

[align=center] Brother Laz


Fading Light
Pul-Gul
Level req 53

+30% Enhanced Defense
+5% to Maximum Poison Resist

Auric Shields (Paladin variant)
+25-35 to All Attributes
+4 to Light Radius
40% Increased Attack Speed
+1 to (random level 1-6 necromancer oskill)
+1 to (random level 12-18 necromancer oskill)
+1 to (random level 24-30 necromancer oskill)
Turns your paladin into a necromancer

Voodoo Heads (Necromancer variant)
+25-35 to All Attributes
+4 to Light Radius
40% Faster Cast Rate
+1 to (random level 1-6 paladin oskill)
+1 to (random level 12-18 paladin oskill)
+1 to (random level 24-30 paladin oskill)
Turns your necromancer into a paladin[/align]

We thank everybody who submitted entries, and wish them luck in future contests. As mentioned in the contest rules, all qualifying entries are eligible for inclusion in a Keep plugin, the Showcase, as soon as we receive a PM authorizing us to do so.

LATE ADDITION: All the entries from the contest can be seen here!

Not Resting On His Laurels
It isn't enough to handcraft a versatile runeword for some people. Brother Laz is no exception, as he continues to lead the way in turning Patch 1.11 into what it could be. The spotlight shines on Median 2 v1.7, which features a couple of bugfixes and game balancing. Read about it, get your own copy, and tell everybody what you think.

Where Nobody Has Gone Before
Every monster needs a place to wreak havoc, and that is where Volf steps in. Get thee to Diabolic Cartography and scout out a new sewer in Kurast and a most unholy River of Flame.

New Faces, Old Graces
Two new plugins have come to our collection. And what is a weekly update without plugins?
- Pit Fiend from Neverwinter Nights, in DCC and GIF formats, courtesy of Phrozen Heart himself.
- Stat Caps Like v1.09x for Patch 1.11 by Nefarius, un-nerfs red-dmg% and abs-####% stats back to a maximum 75%.

Tools of the Light
Our own Master of the Heavenly Forge smiths out another version of his Tilemaker utility, now at v2.4. Take your background picture and split it into Diablo II Floor Tiles. Someday you too can have your name in lights at Diabolic Cartography!

We Have Another Winnah (Reprise)
The Unholy Alliance doesn't always win. RicFaith joins the winner's circle by fending off both AdiTT and Hades to nab $60,000 in Off Topic Cash in the latest edition of the PK:OT Lottery. Let Ric be your lodestar as you try your luck against the Alliance!

Make no bones about it, these dogs do hunt!

[reiyo_oki]

NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!

*/me dies of humiliation at the hands of Brother Laz*

Feel free to use my runeword in the showcase

No webpage for them this time?

[Brother Laz]

<Ride of the Valkyrie plays in background>
Told ya.

[No webpage for them this time?]^2

[Kraj]

Ric_Faith put everything together in a web page. I guess it wasn't ready and/or uploaded at the time of the news posting. Hopefully we can get it out there for ya'll soon.

[Myhrginoc]

Or maybe I just missed it. If one is posted, I'll edit the news so it appears on the main page. Or, since I leave for a week on Monday, one of the other admins might update the news post.

[onyx]

I have included a link for the webpage with the runeword contest entries

[Brother Laz]

Thanks! Rei's and P_S' were also very nice. And all Blizzard themselves could come up with are piles of auras and hit-skills...

[reiyo_oki]

Thanks Laz. I liked yours, but I kinda agree that it was still a tiny bit lacking in something (not sure what though )

[Kraj]

If anyone would like additional insights/expansion of comments from the judges, I'd be happy to have a discussion

[Yohann]

A little late but nobody have do this remark :
I think this runewords isn't so good or perhapd bugged...
...
Why ?
For me got 40% Faster Cast Rate when we are turned into a paladin,
and got 40% Increased Attack Speed when we are turned into a necro isn't very nice...

But I guess it's a little error

[Kraj]

I'm pretty sure this was intentional as a boon for the Pally to more effectively use his new castable Necro skills and vice versa.

[Yohann]

Kraj, read it one more time...
You haven't the +fast cast and the new castable skill in same time...

[Brother Laz]

Yohann:

It doesn't turn your paladin into a full-blown necromancer caster to go wth the new form. That +1 to three skills isn't going to make you teh ubar bone spirit caster. You're still a paladin, with level 20 fanaticism and charge or whatever, only you can support your paladin build with amp or minions or bonewalls.

It also turns you into a necromancer, and a necromancer has a much slower attack speed. The IAS bonus is intended to bring you back to your former attack speed or at least close to it. Otherwise using the runeword would greatly slow down your zeal or whatever and nobody would use it.

Ditto for the other direction. Getting level 1 conviction or concentration or thorns is nice as a necromancer, but not at the cost of a decreased cast speed. The FCR brings you in paladin form back to your original cast speed in necromancer form.

Hope this helps.

[Phrozen Heart]

"Hope this helps"?

Laz is slipping...

[Yohann]

Hehe
Don't worry Brother Laz, I knew that
And for sure isn't stupid but I just think it's more logic and fun like to see the inverse even if it will be less useable...
But in really I just wanted to do this remark since I supposed some people had read it wrongly