Maldar, the Magnificent MALDAR: ACT 1, SAVING CAIN



From the fragmentary information it had gathered, the council concluded that Diablo's locus of power currently seemed to be located somewhere near the rogue monastery in the region of Tristram. Maldar decided to search for Diablo there.



When he arrived in the area, he found a countryside laid waste by hordes of demons and rogues who had turned to villainy because of some unseen evil force. He found a group of refugees huddled behind a hastily constructed wooden barricade. Apparently some rogues still stayed true to the Light and were attempting to put up a feeble stand against the onslaught of the demon hordes around them.



Maldar introduced himself to Kashya who seemed to be the military leader of the camp and asked for information regarding Diablo and the surrounding countryside. But Kashya ridiculed this "old man" who had wandered into the camp. Maldar's heroic deeds had all occurred before she was born, and while people still spoke of Maldar, tales of his adventures were little more than children's stories to her. She couldn't believe that a legendary figure would wander into her camp and took the man standing in front of her to be a fraud or even worse, a spy.



Angered by Kashya's insolence, Maldar left to speak with Akara, the spiritual leader of the camp, but she received him with nearly as little warmth as Kashya had. Akara remembered first hand the deeds of Maldar, but she clearly could not believe that the man she was talking to could be him. Maldar told his story and explained his philosophy against unnecessary violence.



Akara feigned patience and understanding with the old man, but when she could take no more, she said, "If you are truly Maldar, the Magnificent, then you must show us. There is a place of great evil in the wilderness. Kashya's Rogue scouts have informed me that a cave nearby is filled with shadowy creatures and horrors from beyond the grave. I fear that these creatures are massing for an attack against our encampment. If you are sincere about helping us, find the dark labyrinth and destroy the foul beasts."



Maldar stared and scowled. It was clear that Akara had not been listening closely to him and that she hadn't believed anything he had said. Decades before, the mere sight of him would have brought out thousands to greet him and cheer his name. Now, he was being treated with scorn by dirt-stained refugees.



Maldar thought for a moment. If it was true that monsters were massing for an attack, then that would be disastrous for the countryside behind the encampment. Hundreds of people and demons would lose their lives in the struggle. But if Maldar attacked the place where the monsters were massing, then perhaps he could delay the impending attack long enough to find whoever was controlling the demons and in the end save many more lives -- both human and demon -- that way.



"I will do what you have asked," said Maldar. "But I do it not for you, but instead for the lives it will save. And when I return from this mission, you will know that I am truly who I say I am."



Maldar abruptly turned, walked out of camp and uttered the famous battle cry that had not been heard in Sanctuary for decades.



"All who oppose me, beware!"











Anyway, since "blindness" is fairly common in D2, I won't describe its effects on monsters in all the gory detail I did with Taunt in the writeups of Gunter's adventures. However, as I was leveling Maldar up, I did make a few minor discoveries and observations about Dim Vision that I'll share along the way.



One of those observations is that Carver Shamans and other monsters who raise others from the dead, like Fetish Shamans and Hollow Ones, don't raise monsters from the dead when they're blinded -- even when they're standing right on top of a corpse. Apparently the game considers raising monsters from the dead an "attack," and if a shaman can't see you, then he doesn't know to "attack" and raise his minions from the dead.



Clearing the Den of Evil was uneventful. In 1-player mode, bone spirits are more than powerful enough to kill blinded and imprisoned enemies. I'm leaving the awarded skill point unassigned for now in case I decide I need to add points to an unexpected skill later (Terror to make it last longer? Decrepify to make it last longer? Bone wall to make Bone Armor and Bone Spirits stronger?).







Getting to and killing Blood Raven was easy. It was nice to be able to trap her and hold her in place, since she's so fast and moves around so much now that it's a pain to kill her with most characters. She's not dangerous, mind you -- just a pain to kill.



I'm starting to notice Dim Vision's quartered time length in hell. At level 22, it lasts 12.5 seconds in hell which sounds like a reasonable amount of time, but when you're depending on it for survival, it sure feels short. If I get delayed somewhere (a doorway's blocked, for example), then I have to remember to cast a Dim Vision backwards or else I might get a swarm of monsters coming at me from behind.







The going was pretty steady and easy through the Stony Field, the Underground Passage, and the Dark Wood. Actually, the going was fast compared to what I'm used to. What a time saver it is to not actually have to kill monsters!



I've discovered some things about monster AI and Dim Vision. The Arreat Summit says, "Dim Vision will not prevent a monster from moving. If a Monster is blinded when moving it will continue on toward the spot where he last saw you. If you move, he won't be able to see where you went."



That's not exactly true. What really happens is that the monster continues to see you until he has to make a new "decision." Monsters who make decisions often shut down immediately. Monsters who make decisions less often will continue to do what they were doing until they are forced to make a decision. For example, gargantuans who are closing in to attack you and then get blinded will continue to come toward you and will follow you all over the map. In order to get them to stop, you have to force them to make a new decision. For example, you can bone prison them, make them run into other monsters, or make them run into walls, chests, and other barriers. Blinded carvers will also follow you around if they were closing in on you before they were blinded, and lancers will keep right on charging you after they're blinded.



How do you stop them? Make sure to blind them before they can see you. Maxed Dim Vision covers almost the whole screen and it centers on whatever spot you clicked on. That means that you can blind monsters a half a screen away off screen. If they're blinded before they see you, they'll just shuffle around randomly. If you want to fight them, you can then pick them off. If you're Maldar, you can quickly and safely run past them.







I had a comically difficult time opening the portal to Tristram. I first drew Rakanishu's pack down below the stones, Dim Visioned them, and to make sure they stayed put, bone prisoned them. Then, as I started touching the stones, a couple of monster packs (on whom Dim Vision had probably expired) came from off screen, so I had to stop, bring them down with Rakanishu's pack, Dim Vision them, imprison them, and go back to the stones. I ended up having to do this four times before I was finally allowed to hit all the stones and start up the portal. It would be difficult to describe Dim Vision as an underutilized skill, since "Hit Blinds Target" is a mod on many popular weapons and pieces of armor. However, it is unusual to find necromancers who focus on it even though it can be an incredibly powerful spell in the hands of a player who knows how to use it. In particular, I think that maxed Dim Vision should be a part of standard meleemancer builds, whether they are poison dagger necros or not. I've seen many postings by people, still in cookie-cutter barbarian or bowazon thought mode, who think meleemancers should max amp damage. This is silly, because a meleemancer can only attack one monster at a time. It's far better to blind whole screenfulls of monsters and then cast low-level low-radius amp damage or life tap on the particular monster you want to fight. That way, you can pick off monsters one at a time.Anyway, since "blindness" is fairly common in D2, I won't describe its effects on monsters in all the gory detail I did with Taunt in the writeups of Gunter's adventures. However, as I was leveling Maldar up, I did make a few minor discoveries and observations about Dim Vision that I'll share along the way.One of those observations is that Carver Shamans and other monsters who raise others from the dead, like Fetish Shamans and Hollow Ones, don't raise monsters from the dead when they're blinded -- even when they're standing right on top of a corpse. Apparently the game considers raising monsters from the dead an "attack," and if a shaman can't see you, then he doesn't know to "attack" and raise his minions from the dead.Clearing the Den of Evil was uneventful. In 1-player mode, bone spirits are more than powerful enough to kill blinded and imprisoned enemies. I'm leaving the awarded skill point unassigned for now in case I decide I need to add points to an unexpected skill later (Terror to make it last longer? Decrepify to make it last longer? Bone wall to make Bone Armor and Bone Spirits stronger?).Getting to and killing Blood Raven was easy. It was nice to be able to trap her and hold her in place, since she's so fast and moves around so much now that it's a pain to kill her with most characters. She's not dangerous, mind you -- just a pain to kill.I'm starting to notice Dim Vision's quartered time length in hell. At level 22, it lasts 12.5 seconds in hell which sounds like a reasonable amount of time, but when you're depending on it for survival, it sure feels short. If I get delayed somewhere (a doorway's blocked, for example), then I have to remember to cast a Dim Vision backwards or else I might get a swarm of monsters coming at me from behind.The going was pretty steady and easy through the Stony Field, the Underground Passage, and the Dark Wood. Actually, the going was fast compared to what I'm used to. What a time saver it is to not actually have to kill monsters!I've discovered some things about monster AI and Dim Vision. The Arreat Summit says, "Dim Vision will not prevent a monster from moving. If a Monster is blinded when moving it will continue on toward the spot where he last saw you. If you move, he won't be able to see where you went."That's not exactly true. What really happens is that the monster continues to see you until he has to make a new "decision." Monsters who make decisions often shut down immediately. Monsters who make decisions less often will continue to do what they were doing until they are forced to make a decision. For example, gargantuans who are closing in to attack you and then get blinded will continue to come toward you and will follow you all over the map. In order to get them to stop, you have to force them to make a new decision. For example, you can bone prison them, make them run into other monsters, or make them run into walls, chests, and other barriers. Blinded carvers will also follow you around if they were closing in on you before they were blinded, and lancers will keep right on charging you after they're blinded.How do you stop them? Make sure to blind them before they can see you. Maxed Dim Vision covers almost the whole screen and it centers on whatever spot you clicked on. That means that you can blind monsters a half a screen away off screen. If they're blinded before they see you, they'll just shuffle around randomly. If you want to fight them, you can then pick them off. If you're Maldar, you can quickly and safely run past them.I had a comically difficult time opening the portal to Tristram. I first drew Rakanishu's pack down below the stones, Dim Visioned them, and to make sure they stayed put, bone prisoned them. Then, as I started touching the stones, a couple of monster packs (on whom Dim Vision had probably expired) came from off screen, so I had to stop, bring them down with Rakanishu's pack, Dim Vision them, imprison them, and go back to the stones. I ended up having to do this four times before I was finally allowed to hit all the stones and start up the portal.



Maldar entered the portal to Tristram and what he saw was a sight to behold. What was once a proud city was nothing but dust and smoldering ashes. Before any monsters could spot him, Maldar ran into the center of town and found Deckard Cain in a cage hanging high in the air. Just then, some champion skeletal archers spotted Maldar and started shooting arrows at him. Maldar cast some bone walls around the area to deflect the arrows and then lowered Cain's cage to the ground and opened the door. Cain was stunned by the appearance of the figure in front of him. He seemed to recognize him. Was this truly Maldar, the Magnificent?



"Deckard Cain, if you value your life, leave here immediately," said Maldar.



Cain raced out of his cage and took a portal to the safety of the rogue encampment. Maldar started a portal for himself and just as the enraged monsters surrounding him battered down the bone walls, Maldar entered the portal and arrived at the rogue camp safe and sound.



Cain thanked Maldar profusely for his rescue. "Surely, you are Maldar, the Magnificent," said Cain. "I met you once, but you probably wouldn't remember me, since it was long ago -- back when Tristram was still a fair city."



"I remember you, Deckard Cain," said Maldar. "You had your nose stuck in a book. You seemed to prefer to read about adventures than participate in them, but I could use your help now if you have any knowledge that would help me turn back the evil designs of Diablo and his brothers."



Cain told Maldar that he suspected that the demon queen Andariel was probably behind what had happened at the rogue monastery. Apparently, Andariel and Diablo had patched up their differences and she was once more aligned with him.



"Andariel!" said Maldar. "Yes, that makes sense. If she is in league with Diablo, then that is a foul sign indeed. I must go to the rogue monastery to find her and kill her before thousands of innocent people and demons die.



"But first, I have a detour to make in order to finish some old business. It shouldn't take long. Then, I will head straight for the rogue monastery and show that queen that she aligned herself with the wrong demon."