Only 2 questions:
1. Why can't I ever have luck like that?
2. Why didn't you clear the Mortuary?
My only answer:
On the other hand, I'm a little superstitious when it comes to odds like that, probabilistic karma an' all. With a run like that, I'd expect a string of bad finds for a looooong time.
This run scared me shitless ... When I entered the mortuary, it spawned three Viles within 'fwoom!' range ... I decided to port and run, I did not want to tempt fate.
Simiarly, later, about level 23, I started to fight a vile pack that started to really shred me. Due to my firing speed and lack of defense, it was either stand and shoot, or homing phase. I took the latter option.
The lesson I learned here is that the only adaquate way to use the Beretta is to stock up on ammo (especially considering I had the backpack) ... I had EE2 ... I did NOT use burst and auto nearly enough to make the most of that pistol, considering it would stack SoG+SoB bonus damage per shot. Had I been doing that from the beginning, I would have been dealing MUCH more damage, even without the Jackal. If I ever get the Beretta again (which I seem to do a lot) ... I'll keep this in mind.
Before I try for UV ... I'm facing the prospect of a Hat Trick on HMP ... I've yet to die on that difficulty, with two wins, an outcome I did NOT expect. Before I unlocked Ao100 ... I had been much more agressive at attempting to clear levels, often suicidally. Ao100 will teach you a lot, both in fighting to conserve, survive, and combat Viles ... almost on a constant basis. I think this alone was the crucible that is helping me to prepare for more difficult challenges, as I know that harder difficulties will be throwing a lot of very ugly stuff at me from earlier on. My closest point to dying came in the Arena ... I almost underestimated the fact that the last round spawned hell-knights rather than tomatoes, I barely survived it, but ended up with the medkits, and one of many power mods.
Another lesson learned is that unless you have invuln and a Nuke, you should NEVER underestimate the Cyberdemon, that fight was closer than I anticipated, and when I finally got a clue and kicked the Beretta into full auto.
I went full Dualgunner power build for this, but I'm finding my Desperado build to be surprisingly effective (my first HMP run). I'm wondering if other people trying it would find it similarly useful, as it depends on using juggler to swap out a lot of normal weapons very quickly, and making the pistol powerful late-game, rather than early game. Admittedly that won't work on AoMr ... but I think that, especially without Dualgunner, it's a first step in preparing for an AoMr Diamond build.
I'm still trying to learn how to effectively fight Vile packs ... harder difficulty levels present a lot more of them, forcing you to conserve your heavy ordinance more for them. With AoMr it's especially challenging, as you can only focus fire one mob at a time, a loosing game if you've got multiple Viles, Mancubi, Revs and or/Baron's slamming you at once. I think that taking SoG+TaN might be a start. Many of my builds focus more on firepower than survivability (DM seems to only go so far, unless you're going Fireangel ... considering how much splash damage you're almost guaranteed to take. in certain enclosed situations, and even in the open, one of those enemies is going to get lucky) ... TaN, Badass and Ironman may give a little tank to balance the damage output, especially if you can use the pistol's speed (despite the lack of SoB for that extra push).
One challenge I'm finding is that full SoB+SoG has a lot of knockback, which can be useful in some cases, but oftentimes pushes a target out of range before you can effectively kill your target, a dangerous game if you're firing speed greatly outstrips your movement speed, every step you take opens you up to a lot more incoming fire than standing and firing. If I knock an enemy out of range, I've learned to dance (hop back and forth, parrelel to the enemy until he gets in range), hoping to get a sidestep.
Despite the RNG's generosity, I am still learning I lot I still need to learn before I can be truly effective, both in builds, AI, corner tricks and enemy behavior.
That run blew me away ... I needed a ciggarete after it ... I just regret the fact that I lacked the knowledge and the testicular fortitude required to really make the most of the incredible wealth of firepower and utility I was gifted with.
Sidenote: I'm absentminded, and the Necroarmor is a pain in the ass to properly manage without it sucking my HP massively. HP is something I've learned to hoard religiously, saving Medkits as a last resort, hunting for orbs AWAY from the growls of the enemy. Yes, finding excess health is a great way to regenerate the Necroarmor, but I'm getting sick of getting it when I lack the presence of mind to use it effectively (see my screenshot posted of me venting my frustration on that damn armor ... with an invuln and a nuke ... )
I recognize that my string of Lu*candleja* has really outstripped my natural experince/ability with this game, and I'm doing my best to learn from it while it lasts.
I want to try for my Hat trick on HMP, and then I'll go back to Ao100 runs on M. They're hard, but they're fun, especially with the wealth of stuff you find, the lack of limited traits you get with shorter games (allowing for really fun extended builds) ... and just plain freak out factor after level 25. Does M Ao100 approach the insanity that you find on normal UV and N! runs?