Level 85: 5 Socket: Axes Polearms Hammers Maces Clubs: Hel Ohm Um Lo Cham +2 to All Skills +450-525% Enhanced Damage +50% Increased Attack Speed Prevent Monster Heal-30% to Enemy Cold Resistance Level 12 Holy Freeze Aura when Equipped 10% Chance to Cast Level 50 Volcano when Attacking Requirements -10% 20% Chance of Open Wounds 15% Chance of.
GTA's Item GuidesThis guide is rather overwhelming in size. For this reason I have split each section up with numbers that can be easily searched using the 'find' option found under 'Edit'.
By: gta-maloy
Sections covered here:
1.1 - Explanation of all “lvls”
1.2 - Explanation of Treasure Class or [TC]
1.3 - Explanation of the Diminishing Returns
1.4 - Gambling
1.5 - Diminishing no-drop chances and boss extras
1.6 - Object drops and an in-depth look at special chests
1.7 - Item Generation
1.8 - MagicFinding Blizzard Sorceress Build
1.9 - Rarity
2.0 - The Countess
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Section 1.1 - Explanation of all “lvls'
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![Diablo Diablo](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125859761/603444156.jpg)
Arealvl:
Area level - This is a set number given to every area in the game. An area is divided by names. Ex: Cold Plains, Stony Fields. In Nightmare and Hell, this area level will force the Mlvl to be at least equal to the area level. More on this below.
Alvl:
Affix Level - This is the determined monster level needed to make a specific modifier appear on a dropped item. Both Ilvl and Qlvl (noted below) are used to determine the Alvl.
Q u o t e:
affix level - alvl, just as with item creation level, is a value inherent to each individual item that determines how good affixes the game could pick for the item. As I mentioned above, when an item is to have affixes (prefixes or suffixes, the game uses a relatively complex algorithm to transform the item's item creation level and the base item's quality level into a new value, or level. This new value is the one that is compared to see what affixes are possible. People writing formulas and wanting to explain this wanted a new name and abbreviation in formulas for this and apparently came up with affix level. So it is really just a modified item creation level, used to compare with the different quality levels of affixes.
-Jarulf
Clvl:
Character Level - The experience level of a character. Killing monsters, thus gaining experience, heightens this. Used during Gambling (clvl - 5 through +4), Shopping (clvl +5) and crafting (clvl/2 + ilvl/2) to determine Item Levels.
Ilvl:
![D2lod D2lod](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125859761/641777725.jpg)
act 1: 12
act 2: 20
act 3: 28
act 4: 36
act 5: 45
Item levels are used mainly for verification of modifier possibilities.
Q u o t e:
Item creation level or item level - ilvl, one of the most misunderstood levels and also one of the most misused and wrongly defined abbreviation I would say. The item creation level (or simply item level as many say) is a numeric value assigned to each item when it is dropped. This value is set based on the source of the item, and is used by the game to determine what magical (and non magical) properties the item can possibly have. This is usually done by either direct comparison of the quality levels of properties and the item creation level, or through various formulas and calculations that turn the item creation level and the quality level of the base item into a new value that is then compared to the quality levels of item properties (yes, confusing, but it is a bit complicated, I won’t go into detailed item creation here though).
-Jarulf
Mlvl:
Monster Level - First, the 'base' monster level is determined. In most cases (special cases below) the monster level 'base' will be equal to the area level in which the monster was spawned.
special case one: Super Uniques, bosses and defilers do not keep the Area Level as their Monster Level. To check what level they really are check here: (defilers are set according to monstats.txt)
[URL=http://mywebpages.comcast.net/tokusanya/Monsters.htm]http://mywebpages.comcast.net/tokusanya/Monsters.htm[/URL]
Special case two: In Normal difficulty the monsters all keep their mlvls (in accordance to monstats.txt).
Once the base monster level is set certain bonuses may be added as well:
Uniques/bosses*/minions receive +3 to their mlvl
Champions receive +2 to their mlvl
*note: Bosses can also have 'set' monster levels, a perfect example of this is pindleskin with an mlvl of 86 while his minions are mlvl 87.
Qlvl:
Quality Level - Qlvl is an interger given to all items. This interger is primarily used for seperating items into groups knowns as 'Treasure Classes'. It is also used in the formula that determins the affix level of an item. The determination of an item drop will also use this number to verify if the drop is successful. (more on this in section 1.7)
To find out the qlvl of an item check here:
http://www.d2data.net/]http://www.d2data.net/
Note: Stacked items, when failed, also receive a durability bonus, though it isn't displayed.
Rlvl:
Required Level - This level is displayed on many items and is basically the minimum required character level. Once your character level is equal to/or greater than the rlvl the item may be used/worn. (Assuming other requirements are met)
Q u o t e:
Once upon a time, the alvl determined the rlvl (rlvl = alvl * 3/4) and I think the Arreat Summit pages still say that somewhere. This has been preserved in many cases, the rlvl is defined to be whatever alvl * 3/4 (rounded down) is equal to - but it is an important distinction that that is by definition and not following a formula. The rule is broken by many affixes.
The rlvl of an item is simply the highest rlvl out of each of the affixes it has and the rlvl of the base item itself, with two exceptions, both involving the cube:
If a (rare or unique) item is upgraded it gains an rlvl penalty.
A crafted item also gains an rlvl penalty.
Rolling charms with pgems though is no different than the charm dropping.
-Thrugg
Slvl:
Skill level - The current level of a given Skill. Ex: Cold Mastery @ lvl 20. This can be heightened by items or by skill points (attained by levelling or quests).
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Section 1.2 - Explanation of Treasure Class or (TC)
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Treasure Class is basically many items grouped together based on their theoretical value. Every item that can be dropped by monsters has it’s own Treasure Class.
A typical TC group will contain several items that have similar qlvls. The lowest TC possible is 3, every group following will be a multiple of 3 until the highest possible which is 90. This basic set-up is true for all TC groups containing weapons or armors. Here is an example, following is all weapons found in the TC group for weapons classified as “3”:
Short Sword, Dagger, Hand Axe, Club, Scepter, Short Staff, Wand, Short Bow, Javelin, Throwing Knife, Katar, Eagle Orb
Other items, such as gold, keys, amulets, charms, etc., will have their own TC group assigned. Every monster can be ascociated to any of these groups…of course the programmers decide this.
More complicated than item related TC groups are the groups of TCs (many TCs grouped together) which are allocated to monsters. I will not get into much detail on these groups as they are very complicated. They are basically many TCs that a specific monster is allowed to choose from. Every monster has a default group like this. For monsters that have a lower mlvl than the area lvl, this group is upgraded to allow for higher drops. Super Unique monster however use their own groups that cannot be effected by the area level. For a list of the groups held by Super Uniques, looks here:
http://www.diabloii.net/items/110monster.shtml
Many objects found throughout the game also have groups of TCs allocated to them. These work slightly differently than those allocated to monsters but they still are rather complicated and will not be explained in great detail.
An example of these groups can be seen in this next table:
Section 1.2 - Explanation of Treasure Class or (TC)
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Treasure Class is basically many items grouped together based on their theoretical value. Every item that can be dropped by monsters has it’s own Treasure Class.
A typical TC group will contain several items that have similar qlvls. The lowest TC possible is 3, every group following will be a multiple of 3 until the highest possible which is 90. This basic set-up is true for all TC groups containing weapons or armors. Here is an example, following is all weapons found in the TC group for weapons classified as “3”:
Short Sword, Dagger, Hand Axe, Club, Scepter, Short Staff, Wand, Short Bow, Javelin, Throwing Knife, Katar, Eagle Orb
Other items, such as gold, keys, amulets, charms, etc., will have their own TC group assigned. Every monster can be ascociated to any of these groups…of course the programmers decide this.
More complicated than item related TC groups are the groups of TCs (many TCs grouped together) which are allocated to monsters. I will not get into much detail on these groups as they are very complicated. They are basically many TCs that a specific monster is allowed to choose from. Every monster has a default group like this. For monsters that have a lower mlvl than the area lvl, this group is upgraded to allow for higher drops. Super Unique monster however use their own groups that cannot be effected by the area level. For a list of the groups held by Super Uniques, looks here:
http://www.diabloii.net/items/110monster.shtml
Many objects found throughout the game also have groups of TCs allocated to them. These work slightly differently than those allocated to monsters but they still are rather complicated and will not be explained in great detail.
An example of these groups can be seen in this next table:
'Chest TC' 'Equip TC' 'max item TC level'
Act 1 (H) Chest A Act 1 (H) Equip A 63
Act 1 (H) Chest B Act 1 (H) Equip B 66
Act 1 (H) Chest C Act 1 (H) Equip B 66
Act 2 (H) Chest A Act 2 (H) Equip A 69
Act 2 (H) Chest B Act 2 (H) Equip B 69
Act 2 (H) Chest C Act 2 (H) Equip B 69
Act 3 (H) Chest A Act 3 (H) Equip A 72
Act 3 (H) Chest B Act 3 (H) Equip B 75
Act 3 (H) Chest C Act 3 (H) Equip B 75
Act 4 (H) Chest A Act 4 (H) Equip A 78
Act 4 (H) Chest B Act 4 (H) Equip B 78
Act 4 (H) Chest C Act 4 (H) Equip B 78
Act 5 (H) Chest A Act 5 (H) Equip A 84
Act 5 (H) Chest B Act 5 (H) Equip B 87
Act 5 (H) Chest C Act 5 (H) Equip B 87
More details can be found below.
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Section 1.3 - Explanation of the Dimnishing Return
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Here are the formulas used during a drop to determine what the final outcome will be. The outcome of this formula is then applied to each drop.
Uniques
MF * 250 / (MF+250)
Sets
MF * 500 / (MF+500)
Rares
MF * 600 / (MF+600)
Magic items are not affected by diminishing returns.
Although your MF is diminished towards uniques, sets, and rares, it is never worse than it previously was. When adding to the total Magic Find of your character, the UmagicFind (or uMF {unique magic find}) will always rise. This rise is based on the above formula.
magic/normal rare set unique
200 150 143 111
400 240 222 154
600 300 273 176
800 343 308 190
1000 375 333 200
1200 400 353 207
1400 420 368 212
1600 436 381 216
Note: The Diminishing return now kicks in at 10%MF in 1.10.
.
http://stud4.tuwien.ac.at/~e9325732/images/diminishingMF.jpg
With the above information, it should be rather easy to find your balance point with Magic Find.
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Section 1.4 - Gambling
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This is the third installment of this section. It has been revised and a little bit has been removed from the content. Please note that this section is 1.10 based and the information has been revised by many.
How clvl is involved:
Character level determines two things while gambling, the first is what items may be purchased and the second is what item lvl the purchased item will attain.
Please visit this section of the Arreat Summit to know at what level certain items are available:
http://www.battle.net/diablo2exp/basics/gambling.shtml
(scroll down some, a large table shows the items)
Item lvls are then determined by an equation:
ilvl = clvl + rnd[10] - 5
or more simply clvl-5 through clvl+4
Odds via uniques, sets, rares
The odds to receive a specific quality are much higher than recent patches (1.09 and 1.10beta). The following are the odds for a purchased item to become unique/set/rare.
unique: 1/2000
set: 1/1000
rare: 1/10
magical: 1/~1.1
or percentages:
Uniques: 0.05%
Sets: 0.10%
Rares: 10.00%
Magic: 89.85%
Odds at attaining exceptional/elite versions of the item
Here are the equations used to determine whether or not the item will become exceptional or elite:
exceptional = 1 + (ilvl - excep qlvl) * GambleUber / 100
elite = 1 + (ilvl - elite qlvl) * GambleUltra / 100
gambleuber = 90
gambleultra = 33
One last thing I would like to add about gambling is simply this. Magic Find in no way affects gambling.
Rarity of an item may also lower your odds at a unique or set item when more than one unique or set has the same base item. Rarity will be explained further in a future section.
Section 1.5 - Diminishing no-drop chances and boss extras
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This is where the number of people in a game make a difference.
If you are MFing from monsters and wish to up your chances a little, make/join games with more people in it. Every monster has a given chance to skip a drop (no drop) and having more people in a game reduces the odds at this happening. The change is slight but noticeable over time.
Every monster and Super Unique in the game has it’s own no drop percentage. The more people you have in game, the lower this percentage becomes. At times it’s even possible to reach a zero no drop percentage. (guaranteed six TC rolls) With a low or non-existing no drop percentage, your odds at getting that unique you’ve been looking for is slightly higher in most cases.
The Countess is the one monster that uses the no drop percentage against those looking for items from her. More on this can be found in a future section of this guide.
bosses
Certain bosses possess extra bonuses which can come in handy when MFing/GFing (gf = gold find).
Mephisto as an example can only drop items which are at least magical, and he possesses a bonus which improves the odds of rolling a unique item. Here is a very helpful quote from Thrugg that explains this in great detail:
_________________________________________________________________
This is where the number of people in a game make a difference.
If you are MFing from monsters and wish to up your chances a little, make/join games with more people in it. Every monster has a given chance to skip a drop (no drop) and having more people in a game reduces the odds at this happening. The change is slight but noticeable over time.
Every monster and Super Unique in the game has it’s own no drop percentage. The more people you have in game, the lower this percentage becomes. At times it’s even possible to reach a zero no drop percentage. (guaranteed six TC rolls) With a low or non-existing no drop percentage, your odds at getting that unique you’ve been looking for is slightly higher in most cases.
The Countess is the one monster that uses the no drop percentage against those looking for items from her. More on this can be found in a future section of this guide.
bosses
Certain bosses possess extra bonuses which can come in handy when MFing/GFing (gf = gold find).
Mephisto as an example can only drop items which are at least magical, and he possesses a bonus which improves the odds of rolling a unique item. Here is a very helpful quote from Thrugg that explains this in great detail:
Q u o t e:
OK, MF. As I stated, the game checks for unique/set/rare/magic in turn, and your MF is used each time. Base chance of each depends on the item type (class-specific items are more likely to be higher quality) but for regular stuff it is 1/400 unique, 1/160 set, 1/100 rare and 1/34 magic. This is modified slightly by the difference between the monster's level and the item's level (ie Hell Baal dropping a Sash is more likely to be high quality).
Your MF is applied to the chance next. However, it is put through a diminishing formula, slightly different for each test. For the unique test your effective MF is MF * 250 / (MF+250). This is capped above at 250 no matter how high your MF gets. Your 215% becomes 115% after diminshing, which means an item is 2.15 times as likely to drop unique, or about 1/186 of the time. For sets, the formula uses 500 instead of 250. For rares, 600. For magic, it is not diminished at all, so you do have 3.15 times the chance of an item dropping magic, or about 1/11.
Next you apply boss bonuses. Random uniques, fixed uniques and particularly act bosses get a further improvement to their quality chance here. For example, Mephisto is 1024/41 times as likely to drop a unique, set or rare as a regular monster, and always drops at least magical. That brings your chance of getting a unique from Meph up to a healthy 1/7 or so - just about one every time you kill him. It doesn't take too long to fill up your stash running Meph.
There are some details I have omitted for simplicity, but that is probably enough to get you going.
OK, MF. As I stated, the game checks for unique/set/rare/magic in turn, and your MF is used each time. Base chance of each depends on the item type (class-specific items are more likely to be higher quality) but for regular stuff it is 1/400 unique, 1/160 set, 1/100 rare and 1/34 magic. This is modified slightly by the difference between the monster's level and the item's level (ie Hell Baal dropping a Sash is more likely to be high quality).
Your MF is applied to the chance next. However, it is put through a diminishing formula, slightly different for each test. For the unique test your effective MF is MF * 250 / (MF+250). This is capped above at 250 no matter how high your MF gets. Your 215% becomes 115% after diminshing, which means an item is 2.15 times as likely to drop unique, or about 1/186 of the time. For sets, the formula uses 500 instead of 250. For rares, 600. For magic, it is not diminished at all, so you do have 3.15 times the chance of an item dropping magic, or about 1/11.
Next you apply boss bonuses. Random uniques, fixed uniques and particularly act bosses get a further improvement to their quality chance here. For example, Mephisto is 1024/41 times as likely to drop a unique, set or rare as a regular monster, and always drops at least magical. That brings your chance of getting a unique from Meph up to a healthy 1/7 or so - just about one every time you kill him. It doesn't take too long to fill up your stash running Meph.
There are some details I have omitted for simplicity, but that is probably enough to get you going.
Other uniques such as the council receive bonuses for gold drop as well. These become handy for those who wish to often repair expensive items or for those who gamble regularly.
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Section 1.6 – Object drops and an in-depth look at special chests
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The only relevant information I can dish out when objects are involved, has been dished out by Jarulf in the Lurker Lounge awhile back. Here is his post:
http://www.lurkerlounge.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3112&hl=
A few highlights from that link:
-Goo piles from the Maggot Lair have a 33% chance to set off trap #3.
-Normal chests and objects can drop up to 4 items. (not including special chests)
-Chests with no desired quality allow MF to be applied.
As requested by certain people, here is an explanation of the Special chest drop. Quoted below is the original text written by Jarulf over at the Lurker Lounge forums:
Q u o t e:
First, the sparkling chests, the most complex one. There are 6 different options with the chance of being picked as below.
1. 2% chance
2. 4% chance
3. 6% chance
4. 20% chance
5. 30% chance
6. 38% chance
Note that the last option is also what I call the 'fail' option. That is, for many of the other cases, if some requirement has not been fulfilled with the drops done, there will be additional drop according to option 6.
1. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of unique. If the drop fail for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of unique. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6. Note that a chest TC drop can still generate, say 3 unique items for each of the two attempts and yet fail, as long as the first item in those two attempts were items that can't be magical.
2. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of set. If the drop fail for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of set. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6.
3. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of rare. If the drop fails for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of rare. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6.
4. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 3 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted.
5. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 2 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted. It will then drop a number of gold piles equalling 7 minus the numbers of failed magical+ attempts done so far.
6. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 1 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted. It will make a number of chest TC drops with no desired quality (thus normal quality probabilities including MF occurs) equalling 4 minus the numbers of failed magical+ attempts done so far. Next it makes 5 gold drops, 2 heal potion drops and 2 mana potion drops.
Phew
-Jarulf
original text:
http://www.lurkerlounge.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3112&hl=
First, the sparkling chests, the most complex one. There are 6 different options with the chance of being picked as below.
1. 2% chance
2. 4% chance
3. 6% chance
4. 20% chance
5. 30% chance
6. 38% chance
Note that the last option is also what I call the 'fail' option. That is, for many of the other cases, if some requirement has not been fulfilled with the drops done, there will be additional drop according to option 6.
1. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of unique. If the drop fail for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of unique. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6. Note that a chest TC drop can still generate, say 3 unique items for each of the two attempts and yet fail, as long as the first item in those two attempts were items that can't be magical.
2. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of set. If the drop fail for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of set. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6.
3. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of rare. If the drop fails for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of rare. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6.
4. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 3 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted.
5. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 2 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted. It will then drop a number of gold piles equalling 7 minus the numbers of failed magical+ attempts done so far.
6. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 1 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted. It will make a number of chest TC drops with no desired quality (thus normal quality probabilities including MF occurs) equalling 4 minus the numbers of failed magical+ attempts done so far. Next it makes 5 gold drops, 2 heal potion drops and 2 mana potion drops.
Phew
-Jarulf
original text:
http://www.lurkerlounge.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3112&hl=
I shall rip her apart:
Q u o t e:
First, the sparkling chests, the most complex one. There are 6 different options with the chance of being picked as below.
1. 2% chance
2. 4% chance
3. 6% chance
4. 20% chance
5. 30% chance
6. 38% chance
First, the sparkling chests, the most complex one. There are 6 different options with the chance of being picked as below.
1. 2% chance
2. 4% chance
3. 6% chance
4. 20% chance
5. 30% chance
6. 38% chance
This section is pretty simple. Regardless of whether or not your chest is sparkly, locked, unlocked, or normal, a special chest will always have these exact chances at each field. (by field I mean any number from 1-6)
Q u o t e:
Note that the last option is also what I call the 'fail' option. That is, for many of the other cases, if some requirement has not been fulfilled with the drops done, there will be additional drop according to option 6.
Note that the last option is also what I call the 'fail' option. That is, for many of the other cases, if some requirement has not been fulfilled with the drops done, there will be additional drop according to option 6.
This was written simply to place enthusiasm on the fact that no matter what happens, you will receive a minimum drop. This drop will be focused on in the sixth step.
Q u o t e:
1. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of unique. If the drop fails for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of unique. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6. Note that a chest TC drop can still generate, say 3 unique items for each of the two attempts and yet fail, as long as the first item in those two attempts were items that can't be magical.
1. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of unique. If the drop fails for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of unique. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6. Note that a chest TC drop can still generate, say 3 unique items for each of the two attempts and yet fail, as long as the first item in those two attempts were items that can't be magical.
This basically explains in small detail how the game decides what will drop. First, the item will be randomly selected. If this item drops as a unique, then nothing else shall happen. If it doesn't drop as a unique, the item will fall magical and another item will be selected to drop. Once again, if this second item is unique, you will receive a two item drop. The first failed unique and this successful one. If this second item were to fail, the first field is then aborted and the sixth field comes into play. More on this in the sixth section.
Q u o t e:
2. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of set. If the drop fails for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of set. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6.
2. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of set. If the drop fails for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of set. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6.
Like the unique explanation above, you have two chances at a set item. If your two chances fail, you'll receive the two items as magical and field six will kick-in.
Q u o t e:
3. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of rare. If the drop fails for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of rare. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6.
3. The game will make a chest TC drop with a desired quality of rare. If the drop fails for a magical+ test, it will make another chest TC drop with a desired quality of rare. If that drop also fails for a magical+ test, the game will also make a drop according to option 6.
Same as above.
Q u o t e:
4. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 3 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted.
4. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 3 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted.
Here the game can drop up to 10 items. If none end up as magical quality, field six will kick-in. As soon as three magical items drop, you move to field six. It is very likely for the first three items to drop as magical.
Q u o t e:
5. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 2 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted. It will then drop a number of gold piles equalling 7 minus the numbers of failed magical+ attempts done so far.
5. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 2 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted. It will then drop a number of gold piles equalling 7 minus the numbers of failed magical+ attempts done so far.
This is the same as the fourth field, you only get two magical items as a max here though.
Q u o t e:
6. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 1 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted. It will make a number of chest TC drops with no desired quality (thus normal quality probabilities including MF occurs) equalling 4 minus the numbers of failed magical+ attempts done so far.
6. The game will make up to 10 chest TC drops with a desired quality of magic. As soon as 1 of them pass a magical+ test, the 10 attempts are aborted. It will make a number of chest TC drops with no desired quality (thus normal quality probabilities including MF occurs) equalling 4 minus the numbers of failed magical+ attempts done so far.
I have split up the sixth section because three main things will happen here. First, you will receive up to 40 items with only one able to be 'magical+'**. depending on how many were dropped in the last few steps (if applicable). Once one item passes the test, we move on to the following:
Q u o t e:
Next it makes 5 gold drops, 2 heal potion drops and 2 mana potion drops.
Next it makes 5 gold drops, 2 heal potion drops and 2 mana potion drops.
Regardless of the outcome of all fields selected, you will always receive at the very least one magical item, four normal items, five gold drops, two heal potions and two mana potions.
**magical+ is a test done in accordance to the 'desired quality'. If the 'desired quality' is magical, a magical, rare, set or unique drop will count as a successful drop. If the 'desired quality' is unique, only a unique will succeed the drop.
Now that you guys are familiar with how chests and objects think, here is a little more info to bash into your heads:
'Chest TC' 'Equip TC' 'max item TC level'
Act 1 (H) Chest A Act 1 (H) Equip A 63
Act 1 (H) Chest B Act 1 (H) Equip B 66
Act 1 (H) Chest C Act 1 (H) Equip B 66
Act 2 (H) Chest A Act 2 (H) Equip A 69
Act 2 (H) Chest B Act 2 (H) Equip B 69
Act 2 (H) Chest C Act 2 (H) Equip B 69
Act 3 (H) Chest A Act 3 (H) Equip A 72
Act 3 (H) Chest B Act 3 (H) Equip B 75
Act 3 (H) Chest C Act 3 (H) Equip B 75
Act 4 (H) Chest A Act 4 (H) Equip A 78
Act 4 (H) Chest B Act 4 (H) Equip B 78
Act 4 (H) Chest C Act 4 (H) Equip B 78
Act 5 (H) Chest A Act 5 (H) Equip A 84
Act 5 (H) Chest B Act 5 (H) Equip B 87
Act 5 (H) Chest C Act 5 (H) Equip B 87
The above table shows you the corresponding TC groups that those chests can drop (runes are excluded).
This next table shows you the possible rune drops based on the near end acts. Previous acts don’t drop high enough to mention:
Act 5 (H) Good - Zod
Act 4 (H) Good - Cham
Act 3 (H) Good - Ber
Act 2 (H) Good - Lo
Act 1 (H) Good - Vex
Act 5 (N) Good - Ist
Act 4 (N) Good – Um
”good” TCs are used for rune selection. For monsters they are equal to the following:
Q u o t e:
mlvl TC Rune
66 66 Vex
69 69 Lo
74 72 Ber
75 75 Ber *
78 78 Cham *
81 84 Zod *
83 87 Zod
The * means that melee (hand-to-hand) monsters actually need to be one level higher to reach that drop breakpoint, eg a melee monster needs to be mlvl 76 to drop TC75.
-Thrugg
mlvl TC Rune
66 66 Vex
69 69 Lo
74 72 Ber
75 75 Ber *
78 78 Cham *
81 84 Zod *
83 87 Zod
The * means that melee (hand-to-hand) monsters actually need to be one level higher to reach that drop breakpoint, eg a melee monster needs to be mlvl 76 to drop TC75.
-Thrugg
____________________________________
Section 1.7 – Item Generation
____________________________________
I’m simply going to state in which order an item is generated from monster kill to drop. The rest of the information can be found scattered everywhere in this thread as well as here:
http://www.diabloii.net/items/item-generation.shtml
(Note that some of the information in this link is 1.09 or 1.10 beta based. For example, the corrected diminishing returns chart in this thread in comparison to the old one linked.)
Right after killing a monster or activating/opening an object, the game checks for an item drop. More specifically it checks to see if the “no drop” is true. Once an item has been selected, the treasure class then comes into play. This step is skipped for objects that have a desired quality, or is somewhat modified in some cases.
Treasure class (TC) is selected as soon as an item is able to drop. Every treasure class that can be dropped by the monster or object killed/activated will have a set percentage to be selected. Certain TCs are much less likely to drop then others, specifically class specific, “good” (used for runes) and higher numbered weapon and armor TCs.
If a treasure class with items that have multiple qualities (unique, set, rare, etc.) is chosen, then your Magic Find (MF) is used to help determine what quality will be chosen. Using the Diminishing return formulas, you can figure out for yourself how much better your odds will be for certain items. Or use a calculator like the one imbedded in the ATMA program. The item’s quality will be checked in this order:
(Unique > Set > Rare > Magical)* > Superior > Normal > Low**
*Areas in brackets are the only sections effected by Magic Find.
**Bosses cannot drop normal quality if a magical+ version exists. Certain quest only kills (Mephisto) cannot drop less than rare as quality.
After the quality is chosen, an ethereal check is done. Though your odds at an ethereal item isn’t very high (near 3%), it does happen often enough to be noticed. Items with the indestructible mod cannot spawn as an ethereal item. Only items that are forced to drop as ethereal (ethereal edge) or that have been zodded can have both the ethereal and indestructible qualities. (bugs not included)
If a unique or set quality of an item is chosen but the monster’s level is not high enough to allow a drop (the qlvl is then higher then the mlvl) a “failed item replacement” will then be selected to replace the unique or set. For uniques, a rare item of the same type will be selected with triple it’s normal durability. For sets, a magical item of the same type will be selected with double it’s normal durability. If the item is a stacked item (javs, throwing weaps), the extra durability will still be there, even if it’s not listed.
Sockets, affixes and the rest will not be explained here as they do not follow the main topic. The link above and this next link will tell you all you need to know, if you are interested:
http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=d2-gameplay&t=116343&p=1&tmp=1#new116343
________________________________
Section 1.8 - Magic Finding Blizzard Sorceress
________________________________
This guide is being hosted over here:
http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=55046
________________________________
Section 1.9 – Rarity
________________________________
Rarity, a word many people that play Diablo never really came across.
What is rarity? Well it’s a number associated with an item. This number is then used to decide on the probability of any given drop when more than one of the same item type is present.
What does that mean? Let’s use an example so that you all can equally understand this allocation:
You’re killing a monster in Nightmare act 2. This monster has an mlvl that will only allow the first three rings in the unique ring group. A unique ring drops. At this point you see the ring but do not know which it is. Well, rarity helped in the decision. Since Manald, Nagel and the SoJ are the only rings that were possible, your machine had to choose which one of these actually gets to drop. A Nagel ring has a rarity of 15, Manald has a rarity of 15 and the SoJ has a rarity of 1. If you would like to know the odds for any given ring, simply add them all together and divide your chosen ring by the total number. Example:
You want a SoJ (who doesn’t):
15+15+1 = 31
1/31 are your odds for this ring.
You want a Nagel:
15+15+1 = 31
15/31 are your odds here. In this case, the same result will be true for the manald ring.
You must also keep monster levels in mind while trying to figure this out. Andariel in Nightmare has an Mlvl of 49. This is why only those three rings can drop. (all other rings have a qlvl (quality level) higher than 49, this makes them impossible to drop.)
For rings, your mlvl sections are as follows:
10-19(Nagel) 20-38(Manald) 39-52(SoJ) 53-65(Raven and Dwarf) 66-67(Bul-Kathos) 68-76(Carrion) 77-83(natures) 84-99(wisp)
each ring’s mlvl range that I listed is the best mlvl range for the best odds of finding that ring. Note that the ring may drop in a higher mlvl range, not a lower one though.
Now, ladder only items may be removed from the list if you are non-ladder. Do not include non-ladder item’s rarity while trying to figure out your odds in non-ladder play. In this case only nature’s peace would be removed but Phase blades, sacred armors and other examples would dramatically alter the results.
Now, everyone knows that only one version of a unique can be dropped in any given game. No more than one of each unique can drop in a game. (assuming Mlvl/ilvl/qlvl restrictions are met.) This is where some of the more advanced players get confused.
Lets say you are in nightmare act 4 and a unique ring drops. This ring ends up being a manald. You think wow, I should run Andariel because my odds just doubled. Well, this is unfortunately not the case. Your odds remain exactly the same as they were but if a unique ring happens to drop from Andariel, you will then know that it is either a nagel or an SoJ. If that original manald happens to get selected a second time, it wil simply drop as a rare ring and you won’t even know it failed because there is no way of checking the durability of a ring, amulet or throwing items.
please refer to http://www.d2data.net/ if you wish to know the rarity of any unique or set item.
Other popular rarity involved items are: Tal's amulet, Auzerewrath, Tyreal's might.
_____________________________________________________
Section 2.0 – The Countess
_____________________________________________________
The countess is the most unique monster of all when items are concerned. This is primarily because of the “rune TC”(TC being Treasure Class). I’ll get into details below.
First, The countess has five checks for her regular TC drop. This TC is called “Countess Item (h)” and can choose from (the highest available TC) “Act 2 (h) Good”. This Treasure Class group can drop items of all types up to a certain maximum. For the widely wanted items, r28*, Armo66* and Wep66*. The no drop percentage for all five checks is approximately 26.6% in a one player game. Keep in mind that I said one player game.
*r28 = LO rune
armo66 contains items such as Ormus’ Robes and Sandstorm Trek. Don’t expect Tal’s Armor :P
Wep66 contains ethreal Edge and ThunderStrokes.
Once all five chances at the above TCs have passed there are three checks from her rune TC (Unless too many attempts succeeded in step one). This TC is called “Countess Rune (H)” and only contains a set number of runes. In this case, it can drop up to and including the IST rune. Odds of attaining an ist are actually best from the Countess, as well as all other runes from this special TC group.
[i]Please Note: Only six items can be dropped by a monster, this makes the countess a very rare thing. Since a possible five items can drop from the first TC group it is possible to only allow one successful drop from the special rune TC. This might sound good at first since the second TC can only drop up to ist but your odds are significantly better in the rune TC and you actually want them to drop as much as possible. It is for this reason that:
Running the Countess is best done in a one player game
The countess can drop the following runes in each difficulty:
Normal
RuneTC: Ral
ItemTC: Ral
Nightmare
RuneTC:io (eye-o)
ItemTC: Ko
Hell
RuneTC:Ist
ItemTC:LO (ell-o)
Listed here are some aprox. chances at attaining specific runes from the countess in hell and Nightmare difficulties:
Hell:
Lo - 0.000312%
ohm - 0.000468%
vex - 0.000546%
gul - 0.000819%
ist - 0.074436%
mal - 0.111654%
um - 0.130038%
pul - 0.195056%
lem - 0.259175%
fal - 0.388763%
ko - 0.514776%
lum - 0.772164%
io - 1.015448%
hel - 1.523172%
dol - 1.976007%
shael - 2.964010%
sol - 3.744013%
amn - 5.616020%
thul - 6.126567%
ort - 9.189850%
ral - 8.752238%
tal - 13.128357%
ith - 10.502686%
eth - 15.754029%
nef - 15.003837%
tir - 22.505755%
eld - 27.006907%
el - 40.510360%
Nightmare:
ko - 0.006651%
lum - 0.009977%
io - 1.028772%
hel - 1.543158%
dol - 2.001934%
shael - 3.002901%
sol - 3.793138%
amn - 5.689708%
thul - 6.206954%
ort - 9.310430%
ral - 8.867077%
tal - 13.300615%
ith - 10.640492%
eth - 15.960738%
nef - 15.200703%
tir - 22.801054%
eld - 27.361265%
el - 41.041898%
Note that these are all chances at players = 1. The odds of runes not included in the Rune TC will slightly increase with more players. An example, the odds of a LO rune with 8ppl is about 0.00056 compared to the above 0.00031, not a big difference but worth mentioning. Also, the more players will dramatically decrease the odds of any rune from the Rune TC.
Main sources:
http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Urlik's_RFG_v2.xls
Several threads posted in the Amazon Basin:
http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/
Special Thanks to Lord Urlik for the awesome spreadsheet, Adeyke for some rune TC help and Thrugg for an amazing mini course on TC groups. Ruvanal and RTB should also be mentionned for helping out in the past.
Section 1.7 – Item Generation
____________________________________
I’m simply going to state in which order an item is generated from monster kill to drop. The rest of the information can be found scattered everywhere in this thread as well as here:
http://www.diabloii.net/items/item-generation.shtml
(Note that some of the information in this link is 1.09 or 1.10 beta based. For example, the corrected diminishing returns chart in this thread in comparison to the old one linked.)
Right after killing a monster or activating/opening an object, the game checks for an item drop. More specifically it checks to see if the “no drop” is true. Once an item has been selected, the treasure class then comes into play. This step is skipped for objects that have a desired quality, or is somewhat modified in some cases.
Treasure class (TC) is selected as soon as an item is able to drop. Every treasure class that can be dropped by the monster or object killed/activated will have a set percentage to be selected. Certain TCs are much less likely to drop then others, specifically class specific, “good” (used for runes) and higher numbered weapon and armor TCs.
If a treasure class with items that have multiple qualities (unique, set, rare, etc.) is chosen, then your Magic Find (MF) is used to help determine what quality will be chosen. Using the Diminishing return formulas, you can figure out for yourself how much better your odds will be for certain items. Or use a calculator like the one imbedded in the ATMA program. The item’s quality will be checked in this order:
(Unique > Set > Rare > Magical)* > Superior > Normal > Low**
*Areas in brackets are the only sections effected by Magic Find.
**Bosses cannot drop normal quality if a magical+ version exists. Certain quest only kills (Mephisto) cannot drop less than rare as quality.
After the quality is chosen, an ethereal check is done. Though your odds at an ethereal item isn’t very high (near 3%), it does happen often enough to be noticed. Items with the indestructible mod cannot spawn as an ethereal item. Only items that are forced to drop as ethereal (ethereal edge) or that have been zodded can have both the ethereal and indestructible qualities. (bugs not included)
If a unique or set quality of an item is chosen but the monster’s level is not high enough to allow a drop (the qlvl is then higher then the mlvl) a “failed item replacement” will then be selected to replace the unique or set. For uniques, a rare item of the same type will be selected with triple it’s normal durability. For sets, a magical item of the same type will be selected with double it’s normal durability. If the item is a stacked item (javs, throwing weaps), the extra durability will still be there, even if it’s not listed.
Sockets, affixes and the rest will not be explained here as they do not follow the main topic. The link above and this next link will tell you all you need to know, if you are interested:
http://www.battle.net/forums/thread.aspx?fn=d2-gameplay&t=116343&p=1&tmp=1#new116343
________________________________
Section 1.8 - Magic Finding Blizzard Sorceress
________________________________
This guide is being hosted over here:
http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/index.php?showtopic=55046
________________________________
Section 1.9 – Rarity
________________________________
Rarity, a word many people that play Diablo never really came across.
What is rarity? Well it’s a number associated with an item. This number is then used to decide on the probability of any given drop when more than one of the same item type is present.
What does that mean? Let’s use an example so that you all can equally understand this allocation:
You’re killing a monster in Nightmare act 2. This monster has an mlvl that will only allow the first three rings in the unique ring group. A unique ring drops. At this point you see the ring but do not know which it is. Well, rarity helped in the decision. Since Manald, Nagel and the SoJ are the only rings that were possible, your machine had to choose which one of these actually gets to drop. A Nagel ring has a rarity of 15, Manald has a rarity of 15 and the SoJ has a rarity of 1. If you would like to know the odds for any given ring, simply add them all together and divide your chosen ring by the total number. Example:
You want a SoJ (who doesn’t):
15+15+1 = 31
1/31 are your odds for this ring.
You want a Nagel:
15+15+1 = 31
15/31 are your odds here. In this case, the same result will be true for the manald ring.
You must also keep monster levels in mind while trying to figure this out. Andariel in Nightmare has an Mlvl of 49. This is why only those three rings can drop. (all other rings have a qlvl (quality level) higher than 49, this makes them impossible to drop.)
For rings, your mlvl sections are as follows:
10-19(Nagel) 20-38(Manald) 39-52(SoJ) 53-65(Raven and Dwarf) 66-67(Bul-Kathos) 68-76(Carrion) 77-83(natures) 84-99(wisp)
each ring’s mlvl range that I listed is the best mlvl range for the best odds of finding that ring. Note that the ring may drop in a higher mlvl range, not a lower one though.
Now, ladder only items may be removed from the list if you are non-ladder. Do not include non-ladder item’s rarity while trying to figure out your odds in non-ladder play. In this case only nature’s peace would be removed but Phase blades, sacred armors and other examples would dramatically alter the results.
Now, everyone knows that only one version of a unique can be dropped in any given game. No more than one of each unique can drop in a game. (assuming Mlvl/ilvl/qlvl restrictions are met.) This is where some of the more advanced players get confused.
Lets say you are in nightmare act 4 and a unique ring drops. This ring ends up being a manald. You think wow, I should run Andariel because my odds just doubled. Well, this is unfortunately not the case. Your odds remain exactly the same as they were but if a unique ring happens to drop from Andariel, you will then know that it is either a nagel or an SoJ. If that original manald happens to get selected a second time, it wil simply drop as a rare ring and you won’t even know it failed because there is no way of checking the durability of a ring, amulet or throwing items.
please refer to http://www.d2data.net/ if you wish to know the rarity of any unique or set item.
Other popular rarity involved items are: Tal's amulet, Auzerewrath, Tyreal's might.
_____________________________________________________
Section 2.0 – The Countess
_____________________________________________________
The countess is the most unique monster of all when items are concerned. This is primarily because of the “rune TC”(TC being Treasure Class). I’ll get into details below.
First, The countess has five checks for her regular TC drop. This TC is called “Countess Item (h)” and can choose from (the highest available TC) “Act 2 (h) Good”. This Treasure Class group can drop items of all types up to a certain maximum. For the widely wanted items, r28*, Armo66* and Wep66*. The no drop percentage for all five checks is approximately 26.6% in a one player game. Keep in mind that I said one player game.
*r28 = LO rune
armo66 contains items such as Ormus’ Robes and Sandstorm Trek. Don’t expect Tal’s Armor :P
Wep66 contains ethreal Edge and ThunderStrokes.
Once all five chances at the above TCs have passed there are three checks from her rune TC (Unless too many attempts succeeded in step one). This TC is called “Countess Rune (H)” and only contains a set number of runes. In this case, it can drop up to and including the IST rune. Odds of attaining an ist are actually best from the Countess, as well as all other runes from this special TC group.
[i]Please Note: Only six items can be dropped by a monster, this makes the countess a very rare thing. Since a possible five items can drop from the first TC group it is possible to only allow one successful drop from the special rune TC. This might sound good at first since the second TC can only drop up to ist but your odds are significantly better in the rune TC and you actually want them to drop as much as possible. It is for this reason that:
Running the Countess is best done in a one player game
The countess can drop the following runes in each difficulty:
Normal
RuneTC: Ral
ItemTC: Ral
Nightmare
RuneTC:io (eye-o)
ItemTC: Ko
Hell
RuneTC:Ist
ItemTC:LO (ell-o)
Listed here are some aprox. chances at attaining specific runes from the countess in hell and Nightmare difficulties:
Hell:
Lo - 0.000312%
ohm - 0.000468%
vex - 0.000546%
gul - 0.000819%
ist - 0.074436%
mal - 0.111654%
um - 0.130038%
pul - 0.195056%
lem - 0.259175%
fal - 0.388763%
ko - 0.514776%
lum - 0.772164%
io - 1.015448%
hel - 1.523172%
dol - 1.976007%
shael - 2.964010%
sol - 3.744013%
amn - 5.616020%
thul - 6.126567%
ort - 9.189850%
ral - 8.752238%
tal - 13.128357%
ith - 10.502686%
eth - 15.754029%
nef - 15.003837%
tir - 22.505755%
eld - 27.006907%
el - 40.510360%
Nightmare:
ko - 0.006651%
lum - 0.009977%
io - 1.028772%
hel - 1.543158%
dol - 2.001934%
shael - 3.002901%
sol - 3.793138%
amn - 5.689708%
thul - 6.206954%
ort - 9.310430%
ral - 8.867077%
tal - 13.300615%
ith - 10.640492%
eth - 15.960738%
nef - 15.200703%
tir - 22.801054%
eld - 27.361265%
el - 41.041898%
Note that these are all chances at players = 1. The odds of runes not included in the Rune TC will slightly increase with more players. An example, the odds of a LO rune with 8ppl is about 0.00056 compared to the above 0.00031, not a big difference but worth mentioning. Also, the more players will dramatically decrease the odds of any rune from the Rune TC.
Main sources:
http://www.flightsofsplendor.com/diabloII/Urlik's_RFG_v2.xls
Several threads posted in the Amazon Basin:
http://www.theamazonbasin.com/d2/forums/
Special Thanks to Lord Urlik for the awesome spreadsheet, Adeyke for some rune TC help and Thrugg for an amazing mini course on TC groups. Ruvanal and RTB should also be mentionned for helping out in the past.
Capture of the William Tell, by Robert Dodd. Foudroyant is seen in the background. | |
History | |
---|---|
UK | |
Name: | HMS Foudroyant |
Ordered: | 17 January 1788 |
Builder: | Plymouth Dock |
Laid down: | May 1789 |
Launched: | 31 March 1798 |
Honours and awards: |
|
Fate: | Sold 1890. Foundered on Blackpool Sands, 16 June 1897. |
General characteristics [3] | |
Class and type: | 80-gun third rate |
Tons burthen: | 205465⁄94 (bm) |
Length: | 184 ft 81⁄2 in (56.299 m)(gundeck) |
Beam: | 50 ft 6 in (15.39 m) |
Draught: | 23 ft (7.0 m) |
Depth of hold: | 22 ft 6 in (6.86 m) |
Propulsion: | Sails |
Sail plan: | Full rigged ship |
Complement: | 650 officers and men |
Armament: |
|
HMS Foudroyant was an 80-gun third rate of the Royal Navy, one of only two British-built 80-gun ships of the period (the other was HMS Caesar. Foudroyant was built in the dockyard at Plymouth Dock (a.k.a. Devonport) and launched on 31 March 1798.[Note 2]Foudroyant served Nelson as his flagship from 6 June 1799 until the end of June 1801.
Foudroyant had a long and successful career, and although she was not involved in any major fleet action, she did provide invaluable service to numerous admirals throughout her 17 years on active service. In her last years she became a training vessel for boys.
Design[edit]
Her designer was Sir John Henslow.[3] She was named after the 80-gun Foudroyant, which Swiftsure and Monmouth, both 70-gun ships, and Hampton Court (64 guns), had captured from the French on 28 February 1758.
Foudroyant was a one-off design. She followed French practice of favouring large two-decked, third rates mounting 80 guns rather than the typical British preference for building three-decked second-rate ships mounting 98 guns. The two ship types, despite the difference in absolute gun numbers, had similar gun power but the British thought the second rate had a more imposing appearance and some advantages in battle, while they considered the 80 gun ship as usually faster and less 'leewardly'.
French Revolutionary War[edit]
A model of Foudroyant in Monmouth Museum
Foudroyant was first commissioned on 25 May 1798, under the command of Captain Thomas Byard. On 12 October Foudroyant was with the squadron under Captain Sir John Borlase Warren in Canada engaged a French squadron under Commodore Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart in the Battle of Tory Island.[4] The British captured the French ship of the line Hoche and four of the eight French frigates. Foudroyant was only minimally engaged, though she did suffer nine men wounded, and went off in unsuccessful pursuit of the French frigates that had escaped. (Other British warships captured two of these frigates; two frigates and a schooner escaped completely).[5] In 1847 The Admiralty awarded the Naval General Service Medal with clasp '12th October 1798' to all surviving claimants from the action.
Byard's command lasted only until 31 October when, after bringing the ship back to Plymouth, he died.[6] Commander William Butterfield took temporary command of the ship until he transferred to Hazard just twelve days later.
Captain John Elphinstone took up command of the ship on 26 November 1798, in Cawsand Bay. Lord Keith hoisted his flag in Foudroyant on 28 November, and she departed to join the Mediterranean Squadron on 5 December. After arriving at Gibraltar, Keith shifted his flag to Barfleur on 31 December, and Captain Elphinstone left the ship the following day. His replacement was Captain James Richard Dacres.
Dacres' command lasted for four months, before Captain William Brown replaced him on 22 March 1799. On 30 March Foudroyant was among the several British warships in sight, and so entitled to share in the prize money, when Alcmene captured the Saint Joseph or Hermosa Andalusia, off Cadiz.[7]
Foudroyant sailed from Gibraltar on 11 May, calling at Port Mahon before arriving at Palermo on 7 June. At this time, Brown transferred to Vanguard, and Captain Thomas Hardy took over the command. The following day, Lord Nelson hoisted his flag in Foudroyant.
Over the following months, Foudroyant was involved in the efforts to return the Neapolitan royal family to Naples. Nelson's fleet arrived in Naples on 24 June.[8] The fleet consisted of a total of 18 ships of the line, 1 frigate and 2 fire ships.[Note 3]
The British landed 500 British and Portuguese marines in support of the Neapolitans on 27 June, all under the command of Captain Sir Thomas Troubridge, of Culloden. The next day they captured the castles Ovo and Nuovo. On 29 June they commenced the siege of Fort St. Elmo. The first batteries were in place by 3 July, with the last still being constructed on 11 July. The British, Portuguese and Russian forces commenced the bombardment on 3 July and the French capitulated on 11 July, forestalling the need for an assault.[9]
On 10 July His Sicilian Majesty arrived in the Bay of Naples and immediately hoisted his standard on board the Foudroyant. There the king and his ministers remained until after the capitulation of Fort St. Elmo.[9] A series of reprisals against known insurgents followed. The Neapolitans conducted several courts martial, some of which resulted in hangings.
Whilst Foudroyant was in Naples harbour, Nelson began his affair with Emma, Lady Hamilton. Foudroyant departed Naples on 6 August, in company with the frigate Syren, and the Portuguese ship Principe Real. Foudroyant also transported the Sardinian royal family to Leghorn on 22 September.
On 13 October, Foudroyant entered Port Mahon harbour, and Captain Sir Edward Berry replaced Captain Hardy as acting captain.[6]Foudroyant was back in Palermo by 22 October. Nelson remained ashore when Foudroyant departed for Gozo on 29 October, together with Minotaur. In November, after weathering a storm in Palermo harbour, Foudroyant departed once more, this time with Culloden, and ran aground in the Straits of Messina. With Culloden's assistance, it was possible to haul the ship off and into deep water. On 6 December a large part of the 89th Regiment embarked on Foudroyant.[Note 4] The soldiers landed at St. Paul's Bay, on Malta on the 10th.
Foudroyant was back at Palermo on 15 January 1800, when Lord Nelson hoisted his flag in her once again, and she sailed on to Livorno, arriving on the 21st. There Foudroyant received salutes from Danish and Neapolitan frigates, and two Russian ships of the line.
On 26 January Foudroyant was in company with Minorca and Queen Charlotte when she recaptured the RagusanpolaccaAnnonciata, Michele Pepi, master.[11] She was carrying grain from Tunis to Genoa.[12]
Sicilian soldiers embarked on 11 February, and Foudroyant sailed the next day for Malta, in company with Alexander, Northumberland (both 74s), and Success (32). Audacious (74), and Corso (16) joined them later. On 18 February, the British squadron began a chase of a squadron of four French ships — Généreux (74), Badine (24), Fauvette (20), another corvette of 20 guns, and a fluyt. Alexander forced the fluyt to surrender, whilst Success engaged Généreux, and the two ships exchanged a couple of broadsides before Foudroyant came up and fired into Généreux, which struck her colours.[13][Note 5] It turned out that Rear-Admiral Jean-Baptiste Perrée, the commander-in-chief of the French navy in the Mediterranean, had been aboard Généreux and had been killed at the start of the action. His ships had been carrying some 4,000 troops intended to relieve Malta. Their failure to arrive significantly harmed the French hold on Malta and was a testament to the success of the British blockade of the island. British casualties amounted to one man killed and eight wounded, all on Success.[13]
At the beginning of March, Nelson remained at Palermo due to illness when on 25 March Foudroyant sailed for Malta once more with Rear-Admiral Decres on board. On 29 March, she encountered the sloop Bonne Citoyenne, and from her Berry learned that French ships were expected to leave Valletta that evening. Guillaume Tell put to sea on the evening of the 30th, where she encountered Lion and Penelope.
As day broke and the scene became apparent, Foudroyant maneuvered to pistol range of the French ship — the last French survivor of Aboukir, Généreux being the only other — and joined the battle. Foudroyant's log for the Action of 31 March 1800 notes that at one point during the battle the French had nailed their colours to the stump of Guillaume Tell's mizzen mast. Still, Guillaume Tell eventually struck, but not before Foudroyant had lost her fore topmast and main topsail yard. The initial estimates put the number of dead and wounded on Lion and Foudroyant at 40 per vessel.[14]
Later in the day, Foudroyant's mizzen mast fell, having been damaged during the battle. Lion took Foudroyant in tow for a time, whilst a jury rig was set up. She entered Syracuse on 3 April. Amongst the British vessels, Foudroyant had borne the heaviest casualties with eight men killed and 61 wounded, including Berry, who was only slightly wounded and did not leave the deck during the fight. The British estimated that the French had had over two hundred casualties.[15]
On 3 June, the Neapolitan king and queen boarded Foudroyant, accompanied by Sir William Hamilton and his wife Emma. The royal family departed the ship after their arrival in Livorno on 15 June, and just two weeks later Nelson hauled down his flag and began the journey home to England overland together with the Hamiltons.
Lord Keith raised his flag in Foudroyant for the second time on 15 August, returning the ship to Gibraltar on 13 September. Captain Berry transferred out of the ship on 2 November for the 38-gun frigatePrincess Charlotte.
Captain Philip Beaver took over the command on 17 November and sailed into the Eastern Mediterranean with a fleet of 51 vessels, many armed en flûte and carrying the 16,150 men of General Sir Ralph Abercromby's force, which was intended to drive the French out of Egypt. Still, on 22 December Foudroyant captured the French brig Hyppolite, which was carrying rice from Alexandria to Marseilles.[16]
Keith sailed from Marmarice on 22 February, arriving off Abukir Bay on 2 March. Sea conditions meant that the British were unable to land until 8 March. They met resistance from the French but by evening all the troops had landed and driven the French from the beach. The landing cost Foudroyant one man killed and one wounded. In all, the landings cost the British 22 men killed, 72 men wounded, and three missing.[17]
On the 13th, the landing party of seamen and marines, under the command of Captain Sir William Sidney Smith, were again in action at Mandora as the British moved towards Alexandria. Foudroyant had one man wounded. In all, the British navy lost six seamen killed and 19 wounded, and 24 marines killed and 35 wounded.[17]
Keith then used his ships to reduce the castle at the entrance of Abukir Bay, which eventually fell to the British on 18 March 1801. A French counter-attack on 21 March by some 20,000 men, although ending in defeat, caused General Abercromby a severe injury; he died aboard Foudroyant a week after the battle.[18] In addition to the army losses, the Royal Navy lost four men killed and 20 wounded, though none were from Foudroyant.[18]
Foudroyant lay off Alexandria until June, and on 17 June Captain Beaver transferred to Determinée. His replacement was Captain William Young, who in turn was replaced by Captain T. Stephenson.[6]
Captain John Clarke Searle took command in June 1801, before handing over to Captain John Elphinstone, again, in September.[6] In mid-August, the fleet transported the British army to Alexandria. On 26 September the French proposed a three-day armistice to discuss terms of capitulation.[19] Because Foudroyant had served in the navy's Egyptian campaign between 8 March 1801 and 2 September, her officers and crew qualified for the clasp 'Egypt' to the Naval General Service Medal that the Admiralty authorised in 1850 for all surviving claimants.[Note 6]>
When the Treaty of Amiens was signed, bringing the war to an end in 1802, Foudroyant was paid off at Plymouth Dock (Devonport) on 26 July.[6]
Napoleonic Wars[edit]
In January 1803, Foudroyant was docked in Plymouth Dock for a somewhat major repair. The ship was recommissioned under the command of Captain Peter Spicer on 11 June. Her former captain, now Rear Admiral Sir James Richard Dacres, hoisted his flag on the same day, and remained aboard until 28 October. Two days later, Rear Admiral of the White, Sir Thomas Graves hoisted his flag. Captain Peter Puget took over the command on 27 February 1804; however, owing to a serious injury while Foudroyant served with the Channel Fleet, he was returned to England (leaving Christopher Nesham in acting command) and officially left the ship on 31 May 1805. Foudroyant returned to dock on 26 March 1804 for repairs.
24 February 1805 saw Captain Edward Kendall take over the command, and in June Foudroyant was flagship of Grave's fleet, consisting of Barfleur, Raisonnable, Repulse, Triumph, Warrior, Windsor Castle, and Egyptienne blockading the French port of Rochefort.
Command of the ship passed to Captain John Erskine Douglas on 9 December temporarily, before Captain John Chambers White assumed command on the 13th. On 13 March 1806, Foudroyant was involved in an action between some ships of the fleet and two French vessels - Marengo of 80 guns, and Belle Poule of 40. Both ships were captured and taken into the navy.
On 24 November Captain Richard Peacock took command of the ship, and Admiral Sir John Borlase Warren hoisted his flag in Foudroyant on 19 December. Rear Admiral Sir Albemarle Bertie raised his flag in Foudroyant on 20 May 1807, and remained in the ship until 17 November. Peacock's command passed to Captain Norborne Thompson on 31 May. Foudroyant joined with Admiral Sir Sir Sidney Smith's squadron blockading Lisbon.[Note 7] Smith hoisted his flag in Foudroyant on 24 January 1808. Captain Charles Marsh Schomberg took command of the ship on 6 June.[Note 8] On 12 March Foudroyant parted company for South America, arriving in Río de Janeiro in August. Captain John Davie took command on 25 January 1809, and then Captain Richard Hancock on 17 May. Smith transferred his flag to Diana on the same day.
From 25 May, Foudroyant was in company with Agamemnon, Elizabeth, Bedford, Mutine, Mistletoe and Brilliant, escorting a convoy. On 8 June they entered Moldonado Bay at the mouth of the Río de la Plata where Agamemnon struck rocks and was wrecked. Foudroyant assisted in taking off men and stores from the stricken ship and no lives were lost.[22]
Foudroyant remained in the Río area until August 1812, when she returned to England, entering Cawsand Bay on 21 October, and entering Plymouth Dock on 6 November. Hancock departed the ship on 30 November, and then Foudroyant lay at her anchor until 26 January 1815, when she was taken into dock for a large repair that lasted 4 years.
Post-war[edit]
Foudroyant seen next to the Argentine torpedo boat destroyer Santa Fe - circa 1897
When Foudroyant came out of dock in 1819, she took up her role as guard ship in Plymouth Dock (renamed Devonport 1824) until about 1860. Throughout this period she was in and out of dock on several occasions for repairs. In 1862 she was converted into a gunnery training vessel, a role she fulfilled until 1884. She was thereafter stationed at Devonport on dockyard duties, and was attached as to tender to the gunnery schoolship HMS Cambridge.
She was finally placed on the Sales List in 1891 and sold out of the service the following January for £2,350. Bought by J. Read of Portsmouth, she was promptly resold to German shipbreakers. This prompted a storm of public protest. Wheatley Cobb then bought her and used the ship as a boys' training vessel. To offset the restoration cost of £20,000, it was then decided to exhibit her at various seaside resorts.
Fate[edit]
Cabinet at Monmouth Museum made of the wreckage of the Foudroyant and containing objects also made from the ship.
The wreck of HMS Foudroyant
In June 1897 she was towed to Blackpool. On 16 June 1897 during a violent storm, she parted a cable and dragging the remaining anchor, went ashore on Blackpool Sands, damaging Blackpool North Pier in the process.[23][24] The Blackpool lifeboat was able to rescue all 27 of her crew.[25]
After vain attempts to refloat her, her guns were removed and she was sold for ₤200. She finally broke up in the December gales.[23] Craftsmen used flotsam from the wreck to make furniture,[26] and, between 1929 and 2003, the wall panelling of the boardroom of Blackpool F.C.'s Bloomfield Road ground.[25] The ship's bell now resides in Blackpool Town Hall.
As a replacement, Cobb purchased the 38-gun frigate Trincomalee, and renamed her Foudroyant in the previous ship's honour. This Foudroyant remained in service until 1991, when she was taken to Hartlepool and renamed back to Trincomalee.
Notes, citations, and references[edit]
Notes
- ^As given by Goodwin. Lavery quotes similarly, though the carronades are absent.
- ^Goodwin (p.179) gives the launch date for Foudroyant as 31 March, 25 May, and 31 August. The text highlights this discrepancy and attributes the August date to Lyon's Sailing Navy List, published in 1993. Dates given for commissioning and other movements, which are taken from the ship's logs, indicate that the March date is correct. A painting depicting the launch, dated 25 May 1798, adds further confusion, though it is not clear from the text if the date represents the launching or the date the painting was finished.
- ^Mutine, a brig-sloop of 16 guns should also be included in this tally. Ships known to have comprised this fleet are: Alexander, Bellerophon, Bellona, Culloden, Goliath, Leviathan, Majestic, Northumberland, Powerful, Swiftsure, Vanguard, Zealous (ships of the line); Syren (frigate); Mutine (brig-sloop).
- ^The majority of the 89th came aboard at 0900 on 6 December, together with their women and children — 523 people in total.[10]
- ^The victory was of particular significance to Berry. In 1798, after the Battle of the Nile, he was returning to England in command of Leander when he encountered Généreux. After a lopsided and courageous battle with Généreux Berry had had to surrender. Subsequently, his captors maltreated Berry and his crew.
- ^A first-class share of the prize money awarded in April 1823 was worth £34 2s 4d; a fifth-class share, that of a seaman, was worth 3s 11½d. The amount was small as the total had to be shared between 79 vessels and the entire army contingent.[20]
- ^Sidney Smith's squadron was composed of Hibernia, London, Conqueror, Elizabeth, Marlborough, Monarch, and Plantagenet.[21]
- ^The ship's records indicate that Captain Thompson left the ship on 3 February. The gap between him leaving the ship and Schomberg joining is not explained.[21]
Citations
- ^'No. 20939'. The London Gazette. 26 January 1849. p. 239.
- ^'No. 21077'. The London Gazette. 15 March 1850. pp. 791–792.
- ^ abLavery, Ships of the Line vol.1, p183.
- ^'No. 15072'. The London Gazette. 21 October 1798. pp. 987–988.
- ^'No. 15081'. The London Gazette. 17 November 1798. pp. 1100–1101.
- ^ abcdeWinfield (2008), pp. 301.
- ^'No. 15306'. The London Gazette. 28 October 1800. p. 1231.
- ^Goodwin, p.182.
- ^ ab'No. 15169'. The London Gazette. 13 August 1799. pp. 816–817.
- ^Goodwin, p.184.
- ^'No. 15545'. The London Gazette. 28 December 1802. p. 10.
- ^'No. 15255'. The London Gazette. 6 May 1800. p. 442.
- ^ ab'No. 15242'. The London Gazette. 25 March 1800. pp. 296–297.
- ^'No. 15255'. The London Gazette. 6 May 1800. p. 444.
- ^'No. 15263'. The London Gazette. 31 May 1800. pp. 575–576.
- ^'No. 15358'. The London Gazette. 25 April 1801. p. 447.
- ^ ab'No. 15362'. The London Gazette. 5 May 1801. pp. 496–497.
- ^ ab'No. 15364'. The London Gazette. 15 May 1801. p. 532.
- ^'No. 15427'. The London Gazette. 14 November 1801. pp. 1371–1372.
- ^'No. 17915'. The London Gazette. 3 April 1823. p. 633.
- ^ abGoodwin, p189.
- ^Hepper (1994), p.129.
- ^ abGossett (1986), p.125.
- ^[1]
- ^ abGillatt, Peter (30 November 2009). Blackpool FC on This Day: History, Facts and Figures from Every Day of the Year. Pitch Publishing Ltd. ISBN1-905411-50-2.
- ^One such piece was featured on the BBC Antiques Roadshow, 2005, in the Portsmouth, UK episode focusing on Lord Nelson. AC200607 Lot:120-149[permanent dead link]
References
- Goodwin, Peter (2002) Nelson's Ships - A History of the Vessels in which he Served, 1771-1805. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-742-2
- Gossett, William Patrick (1986). The lost ships of the Royal Navy, 1793-1900. Mansell. ISBN0-7201-1816-6.
- Hepper, David J. (1994). British Warship Losses in the Age of Sail, 1650-1859. Rotherfield: Jean Boudriot. ISBN0-948864-30-3.
- The Capture of the Foudroyant by HMS Monmouth, 28 February 1758. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich. Retrieved 25 October 2006.
- Lavery, Brian (2003) The Ship of the Line - Volume 1: The development of the battlefleet 1650-1850. Conway Maritime Press. ISBN0-85177-252-8.
- Winfield, Rif (2008). British Warships in the Age of Sail 1793–1817: Design, Construction, Careers and Fates. Seaforth. ISBN1-86176-246-1.
External links[edit]
- Gallery of pictures, and history of HMS Foudroyant.
- Phillips, Michael. Ships of the Old Navy, A History of Ships of the 18th Century Royal Navy. Ships of the Old Navy. Retrieved 25 October 2006.
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